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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider De Lima: Solons to impeach COA exec Lipana if he doesn't do the right thing

De Lima: Solons to impeach COA exec Lipana if he doesn't do the right thing

Published Sep 11, 2025 11:01 pm

At A Glance

  • Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima says Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Mario Lipana could very well face impeachment proceedings from the House of Representatives if he doesn't resign from his post.
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima says Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Mario Lipana could very well face impeachment proceedings from the House of Representatives if he doesn't resign from his post.
De Lima gave this warning during COA's budget's hearing Thursday, Sept. 11 before the House Committee on Appropriations.
Commissioner Lipana--and delicadeza--became the main topics of the proceedings after it was exposed that his wife, Marilou Laurio Lipana, was president and general manager of Olympus Mining and Builders Group Philippines.
The firm has nine ongoing contracts for flood control projects and farm-to-market roads with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bulacan totaling P326.609 million and completed flood control projects amounting to P178.52 million.
“Please talk to him once he reports back to the office; otherwise, one of us or some of us may initiate impeachment proceedings against him, because it clearly falls under one of the grounds, betrayal of public trust, and even graft and corruption,” De Lima told COA Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba.
The particular commissioner was abroad and thus skipped the budget hearing. Cordoba says Commissioner Lipana has been on medical leave since early August and is expected to retun home at the end of September.
De Lima, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary, said she was aware of Commissioner Lipana's status as an official of a constitutional body.
“Yes, it is also clear in the Constitution that members of the constitutional commission, like COA, may be removed only by impeachment. And it's clear also that the matter of resignation is a personal one, so no one can force anyone to resign,” she said.
But she noted that the conflict of interest in the case of the COA official was real, and had serious implications.
“You know that is a very broad, when you say graft, it's not just about pocketing money, but certain violations like the conflict of interest situation that he is in,” De Lima said.
At any rate, the ML solon asked Cordoba to talk to his subordinate immediately once he comes back home.
The budget hearings are taking place amid allegations government flood control projects are rife with corruption.
Commissioner Lipana was appointed to COA by former opesident Rodrigo Duterte in 2022.
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