Embattled Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday got emotional as he hit the Commission on Audit (COA) over its "premature" release of audit report flagging down the Department of Health (DOH) for its misuse funds amounting to PHP67 billion intended for the country's pandemic response.
In a House of Representatives panel inquiry into the COA findings, a visibly emotional Duque said COA destroyed DOH's reputation, noting how he had been 'sleepless' since the release of the audit report that invited more corruption allegations in the agency.
"Winarak na ninyo kami, eh. Winarak na ninyo ang dangal ng DOH,hindi na kami makaharap sa mga tao, wala na po akong tulog," Duque said.
"This is really unfair, unjust that this judgment had been handed down clearly without giving the DOH the full 60 days within which we should have given our rejoinder and reported on the actions onto their recommendations," he continued.
According to Duque, the COA should have been considerate to them as they are not operating under normal circumstances, but under a state of a public health emergency.
He added that he has received reports that explanations submitted by DOH personnel were not acknowledged by COA.
Duque's statement was refuted by COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo, who was also present during the virtual hearing, saying the department was given due process.
Aguinaldo said before the audit report was forwarded to the DOH and published on the website, resident auditors conducted several meetings and an exit conference with DOH officials.
However, the DOH failed to submit all the needed documents to the COA.
"We do have an obligation to report what transpired with respect to their budget allocation," Aguinaldo said. "So it’s not correct at all to say that there's no due process."
In its 2020 report made public last week, the state auditor said that the deficiencies contributed to the challenges encountered and missed opportunities by the DOH during the time of the state of calamity/national emergency, and cast doubts on the regularity of related transactions.
COA also mentioned that the continuous audit found additional deficiencies worth more than Php 1.036 million.
