Metro Manila, Philippines – The Commission on Audit is investigating its own ranks for possible negligence or complicity in flood control anomalies, and will now require geotagging for all infrastructure projects to tighten oversight.
COA outlined the key reforms it is undertaking in response to the flood control corruption scandal as it faced scrutiny from the Senate Finance Committee on Monday, October 13, during deliberations on its proposed ₱15.07 billion budget for 2026. Senator JV Ejercito asked whether COA is investigating the resident auditors assigned to the now-notorious Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Bulacan First District Engineering Office, where engineers are under probe for allegedly funneling funds into ghost or non-existent, and anomalous projects.COA Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba confirmed this is part of the ongoing fraud audits.“Fraud auditors… also look at the negligence or complicity ng ating mga resident auditors sa baba [of our resident auditors on the ground],” Cordoba said.He said, however, that manpower was an issue, as the two resident auditors in charge of the Bulacan DEO were handling 11 municipalities and three cities.Cordoba said the audit results are being submitted to COA’s Internal Affairs Office for appropriate sanctions. Findings submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman have already led to the suspension of the Bulacan engineers involved, he said. Among those detained at the Senate for contempt are Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza. They are under investigation for allegedly receiving kickbacks from government projects in a grand corruption scheme involving lawmakers responsible for budget insertions.
Lipana extends leave
COA Commissioner Mario Lipana has been implicated in the scandal, with witnesses linking him to budget insertions and his wife identified as a contractor. Lipana has yet to respond to the allegations.Cordoba said Lipana has been on medical leave abroad since August 1, and has extended it until October 30.Cordoba said that while COA has no disciplinary authority over Lipana as an impeachable official, it is coordinating with the Ombudsman for its investigation.Moving forward, Cordoba said COA will now require all officials and personnel to declare any potential conflict of interest.
Reshuffling, surprise checks
Resident auditors will also be periodically reshuffled to prevent familiarity with their assigned offices, Cordoba said. He added that due to limited manpower, fraud auditors will conduct surprise inspections to help keep resident auditors in check.Meanwhile, COA Commissioner Douglas Michael Mallillin said the agency is also reviewing calls to establish pre-audit procedures under certain conditions.“Kung mababa ang internal control ng isang ahensya, pinag aaralan nga lang namin the resources required to do a pre-audit, especially manpower, facilities at babalansehin po namin ito sa operational speed ng ahensya,” he said.[Translation: If an agency has weak internal controls, we’re studying the resources needed—manpower, facilities—and balancing this with the agency’s operational speed.]
Geotagging requirement
COA is also drafting a memorandum requiring geotagging for all infrastructure projects, not just those under DPWH, to verify the exact locations. “Alam natin na ang DPWH, NIA, DOH, and not only national agencies pati mga GOCC, pati mga LGU po ay may infrastructure projects,” he said, referring to the National Irrigation Administration, Department of Health, Government-owned and controlled corporations, and local government units.Mallillin said the commission is aware that geotag falsification has occurred in the past. He said the commission will pursue criminal charges this time. “Yung mga contractors or whoever is required to getotag, takes a picture of the project pero yung geotagging na nilalagay niya ay hindi tugma kung saan talaga yung proyekto,” he said. [Translation: Some contractors—or whoever is tasked with geotagging—take a photo of a project but tag it with a location that doesn’t match where the project is actually located.]
