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De Lima slams Duterte for digging old COA findings under PNoy admin
De Lima slams Duterte for digging old COA findings under PNoy admin
Senator Leila de Lima on Wednesday, August 25, slammed President Duterte for bringing up past Commission on Audit (COA) findings during the Aquino administration, saying it is just “plain rich in irony and hypocrisy.”
De Lima was referring to Duterte’s statements against her and former Secretary Mar Roxas whom the President said were also flagged by the COA.
“For someone who cannot even publicly disclose and release his own SALN, Duterte's accusation against me and Sec. Mar Roxas regarding COA's past reports on our agencies is just plain rich in irony and hypocrisy,” De Lima said in a statement.
De Lima was head of the Department of Justice (DOJ), while Roxas headed the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) during then President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III’s administration.
“Duterte raising issue with COA reports on the DILG and the DOJ under the PNoy Administration is a clear case of misdirection. I challenge Duterte to file cases with the Ombudsman arising from those COA reports,” she said.
“He cannot, because those accounts have long been settled and closed. The COA knows that. That is why no further cases were made out of those reports, and that is why Duterte, with all his penchant for filing fabricated cases against me, was not able to fabricate a case out of those COA reports,” she added.
Besides, De Lima said neither she nor Roxas threatened the COA after those audit reports on their respective departments were released.
“Walang nagsisigaw sa aming dalawa sa telebisyon na winarak kami ng COA. At lalong hindi namin sinabihan ang COA na doktorin o ‘i-reconfigure’ nila ang report nila (None of us came out on television crying that the COA destroyed us. And more than that, we never asked COA to doctor or reconfigure their report),” De Lima stressed.
As far as she is concerned, all Cabinet members of the Aquino Administration always took COA reports seriously, corrected whatever deficiencies were identified in those reports, and acted accordingly to comply with COA recommendations.
“Hindi kami katulad ng mga ilang tao sa gobyerno ni Duterte na magngangangawngaw sa telebisyon, at lalong hindi katulad ni PNoy si Duterte na pagbabantaan ang COA dahil lamang ginawa nito ang trabaho nila (We’re not like other people in the Duterte government who will whine on television, and PNoy (Aquino) is not like Duterte who will threaten COA just because they are doing their job),” she pointed out.
“Tulad ng sinabi ko, magnanakaw lang ang galit sa COA. Ni minsan hindi nagkaroon ng galit ang administrasyon ni PNoy sa COA. Gobyerno lang ni Duterte ang galit na galit sa COA (As I said, only thieves despise COA. Never once did the Aquino administration threatened the COA),” she reiterated.