Had the Commission on Audit’s (COA) report on the “deficiencies” by the Department of Health (DOH) in the use of more than P67 billion in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) funds in 2020 happened during her time, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said she would have ordered an immediate investigation.

Morales ended her seven-year term as Ombudsman in 2018. She was replaced by Samuel R. Martires, who, like her, was a retired Supreme Court associate justice.

When COA’s report on DOH’s fund use and utilization came out, several sectors urged both the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) and the Task Force Against Corruption (TFAC) led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an investigation.

But Ombudsman Martires said the OMB will await the completion of the COA’s findings before conducting its probe if needed.

Martires said the DOH's 2020 budget utilization as contained in its Annual Audit Report (AAR) should reach completion first.

"It must be noted that the AAR contains several Audit Observation Memorandum reports, and at this stage of the proceedings, the Office of the Ombudsman will await the completion of the auditing process as the agency is given the opportunity to ensure full implementation of all audit recommendations to improve the financial and operational efficiency of the DOH," he said.

"Following this, should there be non-compliance or disagreement in the implementation of the recommendations and observations of the auditors, the matter may still be elevated to the COA en banc which has the final say on the matter," he added.

"To await the finalization and completion of the auditing process avoids a repeat of having to withdraw cases already filed in court based on preliminary audit findings...,” he stressed.

Martires’ statement was similar to that issued by Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, TFAC head.

Guevarra said the TFAC “will step in” if the DOH will fail to “justifiably comply with or render an acceptable explanation” on the reported deficiencies found by COA in the health agency’s handling of P67 billion in COVID-19 funds in 2020.

“Any government agency subject of audit observations is given the opportunity to explain or rectify any deficiencies noted by COA. The same is true with the DOH with respect to the handling of COVID funds,” Guevarra said.

He said that DOH “will be given a reasonable chance to comply with or abide by the recommendations of the COA.”

“In case of unjustified failure to comply with or render an acceptable explanation, however, responsible officials of the agency (DOH) may be held liable not only for infractions of accounting and auditing rules and regulations but also for more serious violations of law, such as for breach of anti-graft and government procurement laws, in which case the TFAC will step in,” he stressed.

Published reports stated that among those flagged by the COA 2020 report included P5.038 billion worth of purchases that lacked documentation and had procedural deficiencies in violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act, and the P1.405 billion worth of donations in-kind that were not properly documented.

Morales said the OMB investigation should be “automatic”

She cited a memorandum of agreement (MOA) entered into by the OMB and the COA on Feb. 28, 2017. The MOA, she said, established the fast-tracking of corruption cases under the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which is comprised of Ombudsman officials and members of the COA.

"They will be jointly investigating subject of the COA, so that mabilis ang investigation (the investigation will be swift), and the recommendation and findings should be addressed to the Ombudsman, and to the COA. If you leave it just mere saying wait for... wait forever, walang deadline (there is no deadline), walang mangyayari diyan (nothing will happen there)," she explained.

Morales stressed that she would have been more proactive in dealing with the DOH audit had it been released during her term.

"I gather that the MOA with the COA has expired, inactivated, or dormant," she said. "If i were still with the Ombudsman, I would activate, kung nagexpire na (if already expired), and constitute a new task force so that I would be updated with the development instead of just waiting for a report,” she added.