"Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest." - Article II, Section 28, 1987 Constitution
"No law shall be passed exempting any entity of the Government or its subsidiary in any guise whatever, or any investment of public funds, from the jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit.” - Article IX, Section D-3, 1987 Constitution
The title of my column piece for this week is a slogan often seen in public transport vehicles in Olongapo City – a reminder that all government workers should be accountable to the public whom they serve.
Now, let me say it first off: I am not a lawyer. (I once aspired to be when I was a kid, aside from being a bus conductor, but that’s another story).
The only time I even had basic education with law was during my college days, where media law and Constitutional law were requirements for study for us journalism students.
But I do understand why the framers of the 1987 Constitution decided to set up an independent Commission on Audit: to ensure transparency and accountability in the exercise of government transactions.
Transparency and accountability has been a phrase that is often touted by many of our government officials.
But the reality has been – and is now – that all too often, we the people have been left in the dark on how the government spends the money that we had entrusted to it for the efficient performance of its duties.
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In the wake of the recent tirades of President Rodrigo Duterte and some government officials regarding COA reports of irregularities in government agencies, some people have suggested that COA reports should be classified and not be released to the public or to the media.
But that actually defeats the very reason why the COA was created. And, may I point out, could only exacerbate some officials’ predilection for bilking public funds.
Corrupt officials hate accountability. They hate being told what to do.
They hate having to explain every centavo that the public has entrusted to them. To them, public fund is a "cash cow" that can be milked for any use - even personal - without any question.
The COA is actually mandated by the Constitution to publish audit reports. It should be accessible to the public who wants to know where its own money is being spent.
And as for the question of media accessing those reports? Well, the COA never issues media releases about its audit reports.
It is us, the media, who go to their website and sift through all those headache-inducing documents. Enterprise journalism, in a manner of saying - sifting through data to find anomalies.
The COA is a "silent vanguard" of accountability, transparency, and public scrutiny – vital ingredients for an efficient government.
To cripple its operations will cripple the cause of good governance, something this administration has often touted.