Senator Robinhood Padilla is pushing for integrity and public trust in the government under the proposed New Auditing Act, which he has sponspored in the Senate.

In his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill (SB) No.2907, Padilla said no less than the 1987 Constitution decrees, "Public office is a public trust".

"Sa huli’t-huli po, ang ating malinaw na hangarin: ang itaas ang antas ng integridad ng mabuting pamamahala, at upang pangalagaan ang pagtitiwala ng ating mga pinaglilingkuran (In the end, we have one clear goal: to raise the level of integrity in good governance, and to maintain the public's trust)," he said.

"Bahagi po ito ng ating tungkulin at pananagutan bilang mga kawani ng pamahalaan – ang paglilingkod taglay ang pinakamataas na pakundangan, dangal, katapatan, at kahusayan (This is part of our duty as public servants, to serve with the highest standards of honor and excellence)," he added.

Padilla said that while the Commission on Audit (COA) had been adaptive in its work through the years, there were still procedures that must be legislated through Congress.

The auditing act that the Senate bill seeks to revise is Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 dated June 11, 1978, which was implemented during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. It is much older than the 1987 Constitution.

The bill touches on the parameters of auditing, and defines the ‘Six Deadly Sins’ in the eyes of the COA: (1) excessive expenditures; (2) extravagant expenditures; (3) illegal expenditures; (4) irregular expenditures; (5) unconscionable expenditures; and (6) unnecessary expenditures.

It added "illegal expenditures" to the list of deadly sins, while strengthening the COA's organizational structure.

The bill also makes clear the duties of COA personnel, along with the limits of what they can do.

Also, the COA chairperson gets additional tasks including control and supervision over the auditing of foreign-assisted projects.

Assistant commissioners will be appointed to watch over these 11 sectors: (1) Local Government Audit Sector; (2) National Government Audit Sector; (3) Corporate Government Audit Sector; (4) Special Audit Services Sector; (5) Systems and Technical Audit Services Sector; (6) Government Accountancy Sector; (7) Legal Services Sector; (8) Commission Proper Adjudication Sector; (9) Planning, Finance, and Management Sector; (10) Administration Sector; and (11) Professional and Institutional Development Sector.

The bill allows the COA to get private lawyers for COA officials and employees facing cases related to their work.

It allows "duly accredited Civil Society Organization" groups to help auditors in ocular inspection, validation, evaluation, collection of data, and monitoring projects.

Contracts with private individuals or groups for accounting or auditing-related services in government agencies must have COA clearance.

Meanwhile, the bill allows COA to audit transactions dating back to 10 years, compared to three in PD 1445. This does not include the re-audit of intelligence and confidential funds, as these can be opened for re-audit anytime based on the COA Chairperson's authority.

The Senate bill also contains provisions for collections or payments using digital and electronic platforms. It likewise increases the penalties for violations.