‘Fix COA or corruption will stay for another century’

MANILA, Philippines - Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Samuel Martires believes graft and corruption would continue to plague the Philippines for another century unless the government fixes the problems of the Commission on Audit (COA).

Speaking in open court during the bail hearing of Janet Lim-Napoles, Martires said special audits would not be needed if resident auditors would pursue all the possible irregularities or anomalies he or she uncovers every year.

“There is something wrong with the management of the office itself,” he said.

Martires told Assistant Audit Commissioner Susan Garcia:

“Internally, I’m crying now with what you are saying.”

Martires said resident auditors must look over all government transactions instead of doing random audits or being selective.

He sat alongside Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang.

Garcia reasoned out that COA has so much work to do and is so undermanned that resident auditors fail to follow up on their previous findings and shift focus to the next calendar year.

Martires said he is saying these things in the middle of Napoles’ bail hearings because Congress is actually thinking of adding more to the Sandiganbayan’s five separate divisions.

“Graft and corruption in government, (based) on what you are saying, will not stop even for the next century with the way audit is being handled by your office,” he said.

“Why can’t COA increase its personnel and audit everything without the central office dipping its fingers into the audits of resident auditors?”

Martires said if the government has money to increase the number of the anti-graft court’s divisions, then it has money to increase the manpower of COA.

“We need to stop it in its roots,” he said. “If there is no graft and corruption, there will be no need for a Sandiganbayan. The Sandiganbayan can be dissolved.”

Garcia told the Sandiganbayan that resident auditors who failed to see and stop the pork barrel scam as it was happening in 2007, 2008 and 2009 are all under investigation.