Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), ordered on Thursday, August 19, all major police units to coordinate closely with their respective resident auditors and immediately act on the observations and recommendations of the Commission on Audit (COA) to ensure transparency in budget spending.
The immediate action of major PNP units concerned, according to Eleazar, will prevent them from being put in a bad situation that incomplete documents and vague explanations would be perceived as act of fund misuse or corruption.
“I am directing all the Police Regional Offices, the National Administrative Support Units, the National Operational Support Units and the National Headquarters to further improve their coordination with their respective Resident Auditors and immediately act on their observations to prevent unnecessary situations when the PNP, or any of its unit, becomes the subject of the COA Annual Audit Reports which are eventually misconstrued as tantamount to misuse of funds, or worse, corruption,” said Eleazar in a statement.
Based on PNP organizational structure, every Police Regional Offices, National Administrative Support Units like Health Service and Legal Service, and National Operational Support Units like the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Special Action Force (SAF), have their own respective resident auditors.
‘I stand corrected’
Eleazar issued the statement after he was bashed online after he was quoted saying in a forum that he attended on Wednesday, August 18, that COA should stop releasing its audit reports to the media and instead revert to the old ways when all observations on budget spending are internally directed to the government agencies concerned.
He said he immediately consulted with PNP officials in order to clear things up on the specifics of fund disbursement in the police organization, as well as how the CA intervention works.
“During a consultation which I initiated last night (August 18) with concerned officials of the Philippine National Police, the entire process on how disbursements works and up to the level of COA intervention were discussed. And it was made clear to me that the COA does not issue press statements and instead, posts its audit reports on its website as part of its Constitutional mandate for transparency,” said Eleazar.
“I stand corrected,” he stressed.
It was in the same consultation, according to Eleazar, that it was also explained to him that his suggestion that COA should direct the communication on their observations and recommendations to government agencies concerned is already being done.
Based on the practice, COA auditors would send their observation and recommendations to the government agencies concerned on all fund disbursements in order to give them the chance to rectify, comply and explain the budget spending in question.
Failure to address the concerns would result in COA flagging the disbursement in its annual audit reports that are posted in its website.
Fund is safe
“The Philippine National Police has been taking all the COA observations seriously and in fact, has instituted various measures to further improve our budget spending based on whatever the recommendations would suggest over the years,” said Eleazar.
“I assure the Filipino people that the hard-earned money they give to the PNP through their taxes is safe and is wisely spent as part of our continuous commitment to genuine reforms that are anchored on transparency, accountability and professionalism,” he added.
The Chief PNP also stressed that the Constitutional mandate of COA for transparency is also in line with the Intensified Cleanliness Policy which he launched when he assumed the top PNP post in May this year.
“The ICP is aimed at further gaining the trust and respect of our kababayan through fast, reliable and honest public service,” Eleazar said.