Noy highlights gov’t auditors’ role in campaign against graft

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino emphasized yesterday the important role played by state auditors in the campaign against corruption.

The President issued the statement as he welcomed to the country participants in the 46th Governing Board Meeting of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in ceremonies held at Malacañang.

In his keynote speech, the President reported the gains of his administration in the fight against corruption.

He said the organization, which counts the Philippines’ Commission on Audit (COA) as member, “symbolizes the solidarity of government agencies from over 45 countries in fostering accountability and transparency.”

Auditors from South Korea, Japan, Norway, Bangladesh and Russia, many of the country’s neighbors from the regional community, are in Manila for the Governing Board Meeting from Feb. 17 to 21.

“I am especially pleased to be meeting with you, because many of our neighbors from the regional community can see for themselves how it is more fun in the Philippines,” Aquino told members of the ASOSAI.

The ASOSAI is one of the regional groups of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). It was established in 1979 to promote professionalism, mutual support and understanding among the member audit institutions through institutional capacity building, knowledge sharing and regional working groups.

 The COA was elected as member of the governing body of the ASOSAI for the period 2012 to 2015, and was made host of this year’s Governing Board Meeting.

Joining the President were COA chair Grace Pulido-Tan and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

In his speech, Aquino cited the achievements of his administration, particularly the removal of the excessive perks and privileges the previous administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave to executives of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

“All of these amounted to over two and a half million pesos for each board member annually,” he said. “This is only one way that our COA has helped us to guard against corruption – one example that perhaps resonates with your own experiences.”

“Imagine the gall of these people to mismanage funds and use their positions to enrich themselves – even as the institution they ran continued to bleed resources, and even as the pensions of their retirees remained unpaid,” he revealed.