Ex-Duterte finance chief denies blocking vaccine deal audit

Former Duterte administration officials, including ex-Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, denied refusing to subject government vaccine deals to audit by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Dominguez stated that vaccine agreements were not exempt from audit and were largely financed by official development assistance from multilateral development partners.

He emphasized that the loan agreements mandate the audit of supply agreements to ensure they are corruption-free.

Dominguez also affirmed that under the Constitution, COA has jurisdiction to audit all government accounts, including these vaccine supply agreements.

While specific details could not be publicly disclosed due to confidentiality obligations, the agreements can still be duly audited according to government procedures.