CoA to audit DOH COVID vaccine purchases
COVID-19

CoA to audit DOH COVID vaccine purchases

Dec 1, 2022, 12:55 AM
Kaithe Santos

Kaithe Santos

Writer

CA chairman Cordoba said that the DOH and vaccine suppliers' confidentiality agreements do not bind the agency.

Commission on Audit (CoA) chair Atty. Gamaliel Cordoba vowed to audit the vaccine purchases for COVID of the Department of Health (DOH) in view of so much wastage.

Cordoba told legislators that his agency is not bound by confidentiality agreements between the DOH and vaccine suppliers.

“We will demand these,” he said at his appointment confirmation hearing, Business World reported.

Cordoba said former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had turned down auditors’ request for documents, citing the nondisclosure agreements.

He added that the World Bank and Asian Development Bank had also mandated a special audit as part of a loan deal for the purchase of coronavirus vaccines.

“We might have to issue a notice of suspension and go through the process of budget disallowance,” Cordoba said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros told him to immediately subpoena the contracts for the vaccines.

“Under the Constitution, you have the mandate to conduct the audit,” she told Cordoba.
“Isn’t the nondisclosure agreement infringing the Constitution?” Hontiveros added.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis N. Tolentino protested the suspected use of state audit reports to harass public officials at the appointment hearing.

“Commission on Audit reports should really be seen as a tool for good governance and not just a means or weapon for harassment,” he said.

The congressional body approved the appointment of Cordoba and Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople.

Tags: #VaccinePurchase, #DOH


We take a stand
OpinYon News logo

Designed and developed by Simmer Studios.

© 2024 OpinYon News. All rights reserved.