COA creates legal unit to help ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines - A Prosecution and Litigation Office (PLO) has been formed in the Commission on Audit (COA) to initiate complaints and assist in the prosecution of cases arising from audit actions.

Chairman Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan and Commissioner Heidi   Mendoza said the PLO will also act as counsel of the COA in civil cases for collection, and represent employees, personnel and officials in cases arising from the performance of their official duties and functions.

The PLO will be under the Legal Services Sector (LSS), COA said in a resolution dated Feb. 14 and published in The STAR yesterday.

“In the performance of its mandate, various irregularities are uncovered that warrant the filing of criminal, civil, or administrative complaints against erring public officers and private individuals involved in the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice, the Civil Service Commission and other investigative agencies,” read the resolution.

The resolution said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) refuses to represent COA before the Supreme Court in some special civil actions.

Tan and Mendoza said the law allows COA to perform advisory and consultative functions and render legal services and interpret  pertinent laws and auditing rules and regulations.

“COA personnel are often subjected to suits or summoned as witnesses in court or any tribunal with no immediate financial and legal assistance from COA,” they said.

In setting up the PLO, COA  intends to reduce the amount of disallowances and charges spent for referral to the OSG to represent it in legal proceedings.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales urged policy-makers and decision-makers in the public and private sectors to devise ways to improve anti-corruption strategies in the Philippines.

That can be done through a variety of ways like stronger laws against graft, she added.