House BARC approves measure requiring COA to publish audit reports by Oct 31

The House Budget Amendments Review Committee (BARC) has approved a measure requiring the Commission on Audit (COA) to publish its annual audit reports by October 31 of the following year, as part of the proposed P6.793 trillion budget for 2026.

This new provision aims to expedite the release of audit reports, as the current practice allows for uploads much later, with the 2023 reports only being published in December 2024.

The committee accepted the amendment under Section 103, which pertains to the transmittal and publication of COA's observations and recommendations, including their website posting.

COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba had initially proposed an earlier deadline of August 15 for the public disclosure of these reports.

However, the BARC ultimately decided on a deadline of October 31 to allow for sufficient time for the release of the annual audit reports.