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‘No malice’ in COA report on DOH utilization of COVID-19 funds — IBP
President Rodrigo Duterte defended the Department of Health (DOH) over allegations of corruption concerning P67.3 billion in COVID-19 response funds.
Duterte attributed the deficiencies highlighted in the Commission on Audit (COA) report to incomplete paperwork rather than theft.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stated that the COA's 2020 audit report has "unnecessarily" alarmed the public and that the funds were utilized, not lost.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) clarified that the COA report was a fulfillment of its constitutional duty to track public funds and bore no malice.
The IBP noted that the COA's findings were based on government records or the lack thereof, including P42.41 billion transferred to partner agencies without proper agreements and P11.89 billion in unobligated allotments.
The DOH has stated that most of the major findings in the COA report have been resolved.
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President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to explain the P67-billion COVID-19 response fund's spending "deficiencies."
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State auditors identified deficiencies amounting to P67.32 billion in the Department of Health's (DOH) COVID-19 funds for 2020.
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Health Secretary Francisco Duque III stated that the Commission on Audit's (COA) report on the Department of Health's (DOH) P67.32 billion COVID-19 fund use has demoralized the agency.
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President Rodrigo Duterte instructed his Cabinet to disregard preliminary audit reports from the Commission on Audit (COA), expressing frustration over their premature release.
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State auditors from the Commission on Audit (COA) will brief the House of Representatives on Tuesday, August 17, regarding deficiencies found in the Department of Health's (DOH) utilization of P67.32 billion in COVID-19 funds.
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