The progressive Makabayan bloc is pushing for a full scale congressional inquiry into the adverse audit findings made by the Commission on Audit in the the management by the Department of Health of the P67.32 billion anti-COVID 19 funds.
The resolution calling for the investigation will be filed Monday, August 16 by the six-man opposition bloc notwithstanding the conduct by the Commission on Audit of a briefing to lawmakers in connection with its 2020 Annual Audit Report for the DOH.
Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, together with Asst. Minority Leaders and Reps. France Castro (ACT Teachers Partylist) and Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Partylist) affirmed previous pronouncements that they will ask the Lower House to investigate DOH and its head, Secretary Francisco Duque.
Zarate said their call for Duque’s resignation also stands as he decried the Cabinet officials failure to satisfactorily address the COVID-19 situation despite getting sufficient funding support.
Similar calls have been made in the Senate whose leadership has agreed to assign the Blue Ribbon Committee to lead the probe of the COA findings.
It is not immediately known whether or not the Lower House leadership will be satisfied with a COA briefing on the issues it raised or will allow a probe similar to the Senate.
State auditors have revealed that the DOH committed various lapses in its management of the P67.32 billion funding granted by the government to address the COVID-19 crisis.
State auditors lamented that despite the need for swift action to address pandemic that has caused critical public health problems, the DOH had even failed to spend P11.89 billion allocated during the year.
The 2020 AAR findings caused an uproar over the alleged DOH lapses from various sectors.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said a briefing will be conducted by COA for the Lower House anytime this week.
Public accountability advocate and Probinsyano Ako Partylist Rep. Jose “Bonito” Singson Jr., chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, has been tasked to set the schedule.
Singson welcomed the House leadership’s decision, saying that this will clarify issues raised by the COA in its 2020 Annual Audit Report for DOH.
“We want to get the facts straight from COA and we are particularly concerned because the funds involved were among those allocated under the Bayanihan laws that Congress passed last year,” Velasco said.