Commission on Audit of the Philippines

This article is about a Philippines agency. For other uses, see Audit Commission (disambiguation).

Commission on Audit
Komisyon ng Pagsusuri

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Formation	February 2, 1987
Headquarters	Commission on Audit Building, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Chairman	Michael G. Aguinaldo
Website	www.coa.gov.ph

The Commission on Audit, abbreviated as COA (Filipino: Komisyon ng Pagsusuri), is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government.

Composition

The Commission on Audit is composed of a Chairperson and two Commissioners. They must be natural-born citizens of at least thirty-five years of age, and must be either a Certified Public Accountant or a lawyer. The members of the Commission are appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission of Appointment, for a term of seven years without reappointment.

Functions

The Commission has the power, authority and duty to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government. Towards that end, it has the exclusive authority to define the scope, techniques and methods of its auditing and examination procedures. It also may prevent and disallow irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties.

History

Auditing as a tool for effective governance has been recognized and practiced since the Spanish colonial era. One proof of this was the residencia, an inquiry into the administration of an outgoing Governor General and consequently of other officials. Conducted by the Royal Audiencia, it was designed to hold colonial officials to strict accountability for all acts during their term of office. Another was the visita de tierra, a visit of inspection made every three years, which often revealed glaring anomalies in the handling of local government accounts. Colonial officials also performed investigations akin to audit at the time. One was a fraud audit of sorts for galleon trade conducted in the early 1700s. Another, which involved the inspection of the Misericordia de Manila in 1751, had shades of financial audit. In 1739, a Royal Decree by the King of Spain established the royal exchequer which was the national treasury of that era. All books of accounts of the Spanish colonial government were required to pass through the scrutiny and certification of the contador or the accountant and that of the oidor, a representative of the Spanish crown, who by the nature of his duties may be considered as the precursor of the auditor. By mid-19th century, the Tribunal de Cuentas was created. It functioned as the supreme auditing institution of the islands until the end of the Spanish rule in 1898. Staffed by a president, two auditors, a fiscal, accountants and examiners, the Tribunal had exclusive jurisdiction over the audit of all financial matters affecting the colony. These personnel, all appointees of the King, were required by law to review all vouchers and to cross-check them against corresponding entries in the books of accounts.

The Birth of an Institution Nurturing a nascent government requires a mixture of boldness and prudence. And at a time when the early Philippine government was being zealously fleshed out by its American rulers emboldened by their newfound power, then President William McKinley ensured a healthy dose of prudence in these activities. An unnumbered memorandum signed on May 8, 1899 by McKinley gave birth to the Office of the Auditor for the Philippine Islands. By 1900, the Office had become a fixture of government. The civil government was formally ushered in 1901 under William Howard Taft. The major change in the nature of government had ripple effects in the structure of government. One result of such change was the conversion of the Office of the Auditor of the Philippine Islands to the Bureau of the Insular Auditor. However, it was more than a mere change of name. A provincial audit division was created for the Bureau. Moreover, double-entry bookkeeping was introduced which accounted for fuller analysis of settlements and ensured a higher degree of correctness. In 1905, a change of guard took place. Taft resigned as Civil Governor and was replaced by Luke E. Wright who led as Governor General. Under his administration, Act No. 1402 was passed whereby the Bureau of the Insular Auditor was renamed the Bureau of Audits.

Growth and Changes: Becoming A Stronger Institution As the nation celebrated its independence with the promulgation of the 1935 Constitution, the institution also reached a milestone. The 1935 Constitution expressly provided for a General Auditing Office, thereby elevating the audit institution to a constitutional body. Renamed as the General Auditing Office or GAO, it now embarked on a full Filipinization of the institution as a reflection of the government-wide transition to self-governance. For the first time, the institution was headed by a Filipino Auditor General in the person of the Hon. Jaime Hernandez. As a major stride towards the independence of the audit institution, the GAO was explicitly placed under the direction and control of an Auditor General to separate it as an organization from the Executive and other departments of the government. In 1972, the country was placed under Martial Law. Government experienced a major upheaval, and the GAO was not exempted. The GAO was renamed the Commission on Audit (COA) and was granted broader powers under the new Constitution promulgated in 1973. Under this Constitution, COA was given a broader area of audit coverage by including the accounts of all subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities of government and government-owned-and-controlled corporations among those to be examined, audited and settled. As opposed to having an Auditor General single-handedly leading the GAO, the new Constitution provided for a three-man collegial Commission on Audit. This change aimed to strengthen the independence of the auditing office and improve the quality of its decisions, given the rationale that a three-man body was less susceptible to pressure than an office held by a single person. It worked as a built-in internal check within the Commission and encouraged opposing views to surface thereby resulting in earnest consultation and better deliberation. In the years that ensued, the Commission was a hub of activity. A landmark legislation on auditing, Presidential Decree 1445 or the Government Auditing Code, was promulgated in 1978. A Standard Government Chart of Accounts was likewise issued which greatly facilitated financial audit for computerization purposes. The Commission also implemented its comprehensive audit program focusing on the 3Es: economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Installation of this program represented a break from tradition that laid undue emphasis on compliance and voucher audit. And on top of all these, the Commission embarked on a massive reorganization and professionalization of its personnel. This era will also be remembered for the significant involvement of COA in international events such as initiating the establishment of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), on to sponsorships of trainings for Asia’s auditors and culminating with the hosting of the XI International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI) in 1983. It was also during this time that a COA Chairman was first elected to the United Nations Board of Auditors. Years later, the world witnessed the 1986 EDSA Revolution. It was truly a historical event that highlighted the need for reforms in government as a whole. It provided everyone a chance for introspection and created an avenue towards change. As fate would have it, the COA again found itself working under a new government, under a new Constitution and with an even broader scope of authority. The 1987 Constitution maintained the independence of the Commission on Audit as the supreme auditing arm of the Philippine government. Moreover, the Constitution reiterated COA’s role as the sole official external auditor of government agencies as well as government-owned- and-controlled corporations (GOCCs). In other words, the previous practice of some GOCCs and other government agencies of hiring private accounting firms as a requirement of foreign funding institutions to act as their auditors for foreign-assisted projects was no longer allowed. Change, it seems, is the inescapable destiny of the Commission. But as history proves, whatever the nature of change brought about by national political events, the Commission manages to make it for the better.

Members

The 1987 Constitution staggered the terms of the members of the Constitutional Commissions. Of the first appointees, the Chairman would serve seven years (1st line), a Commissioner would serve five years (2nd line), and another Commissioner would serve three years (3rd line). Term refers to a fixed period, while tenure refers to the actual period that a person held office.

In Funa v. Villar, it was held that a Commissioner can only be appointed as Chairman if the unexpired term for the office of Chairman and the term that the Commissioner had already served does not exceed seven years. In such case, the Commissioner promoted as Chairman would serve the unexpired term of the Chairman, forfeiting the duration of his original term as Commissioner.

Incumbents

1. Chairman Michael Aguinaldo
2. Commissioner Heidi Mendoza
3. Commissioner Jose Fabia

#	Name	Term start	Term end	Tenure start	Tenure end	Position	Line	Appointed by
1	Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr.	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1994	March 10, 1986	March 1987	Chairman	1st	Corazon Aquino
2	Eufemio C. Domingo	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1990	April 1986	March 1987	Commissioner	3rd	Corazon Aquino
3	Bartolome C. Fernandez, Jr.	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1992	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1992	Commissioner	2nd	Corazon Aquino
4	Eufemio C. Domingo	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1994	March 1987	April 1993	Chairman	1st	Corazon Aquino
5	Alberto P. Cruz	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1990	March 1987	February 1990	Commissioner	3rd	Corazon Aquino
6	Rogelio B. Espiritu	February 2, 1990	February 2, 1997	February 2, 1990	February 2, 1997	Commissioner	3rd	Corazon Aquino
7	Sofronio B. Ursal	February 2, 1992	February 2, 1999	March 16, 1992	February 2, 1999	Commissioner	2nd	Corazon Aquino
8	Pascacio S. Banaria	February 2, 1987	February 2, 1994	April 1993	February 1994	Chairman	1st	Fidel V. Ramos
9	Celso D. Gangan	February 2, 1994	February 2, 2001	March 25, 1994	February 2, 2001	Chairman	1st	Fidel V. Ramos
10	Raul C. Flores	February 2, 1997	February 2, 2004	February 3, 1997	February 2, 2004	Commissioner	3rd	Fidel V. Ramos
11	Emmanuel M. Dalman	February 2, 1999	February 2, 2006	February 3, 1999	February 2, 2006	Commissioner	2nd	Joseph Estrada
12	Guillermo N. Carague	February 2, 2001	February 2, 2008	February 2, 2001	February 2, 2008	Chairman	1st	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
13	Reynaldo A. Villar	February 2, 2004	February 2, 2011	February 7, 2004	June 10, 2008	Commissioner	3rd	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
14	Juanito G. Espino, Jr.	February 2, 2006	February 2, 2013	May 11, 2006	March 2013	Commissioner	2nd	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
15	Reynaldo A. Villar	February 2, 2008	February 2, 2015	February 2, 2008	April 5, 2011	Chairman	1st	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
16	Evelyn R. San Buenaventura	February 2, 2004	February 2, 2011	January 8, 2010	February 2, 2011	Commissioner	3rd	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
17	Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan	February 2, 2008	February 2, 2015	April 5, 2011	February 2, 2015	Chairman	1st	Benigno Aquino III
18	Heidi L. Mendoza	February 2, 2011	February 2, 2018	April 18, 2011	November 11, 2015	Commissioner	3rd	Benigno Aquino III
19	Rowena V. Guanzon	February 2, 2013	February 2, 2020	March 18, 2013	2014	Commissioner	2nd	Benigno Aquino III
20	Jose A. Fabia	February 2, 2013	February 2, 2020	May 2, 2014		Commissioner	2nd	Benigno Aquino III
21	Michael G. Aguinaldo	February 2, 2015	February 2, 2022	March 24, 2015		Chairman	1st	Benigno Aquino III