A World Gone Crazy

Hole of Justice
By Peter G. Jimenea
A World Gone Crazy
It is disheartening to note that every time we request copy of audit report of certain local government unit from the Regional Office of the Commission on Audit (COA), we always end-up badly disillusioned.

What a sad fate for the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI). True, remembering what was lost makes it precious. During the first month in office of Pres. P-Noy, his mind was pregnant with good promises of the future that he conceived the FOI.

On what misfortune, he conceived FOI but delivered a Cybercrime Law instead. This RA 10175 stirs the peace of working journalists who have been using the internet from the national level down to all regions of the country.

Now look, an Asst. Ombudsman requested from COA the certified machine copy of 2004 to 2007 Annual Audit Reports of Barangay Ingore, La Paz, Iloilo City, but was ignored. So how could we when even the Ombudsman was denied and the FOI is now gasping its last breath?

The taxpayers who religiously pay their dues to the government were shocked to learn that the letter-request only slept there at COA Region 6. This reinforced the public belief that COA is a government watchdog that only barks but doesn’t bite!

As a matter of fact, a leaked copy of the Iloilo City government audit report of December 2009, disclosed a P821milion of its P1.305 billion in property, plant and equipment that cannot be reconciled for lack of supporting documents or no document at all.

After that COA report nothing follows. The P821M taxpayers’ money seemed to have disappeared in the course of time. As government watchdogs, I am not surprise to hear that some personnel can also be tamed and domesticated ….. I’m sure you know what that means!


The same is true with the Iloilo City Government Housing Scam that rocked the city for over eight years. The P137M budget for the 413 houses was almost spent without a completed-unit. Here, COA just barked then slept without any action.

Going back to that barangay in La Paz, its chairman is said to be a known supporter of the congressman. This creates a misperception that the lawmaker’s intervention in his case has caused the delay in COA’s submission of the annual audit report to the Office of the Ombudsman.                                                                                                                                                                

The alleged giving of gifts by the barangay chairman to different government offices with concern to his case is another mess we have to deal with. The gift giving was untimely and highly suspicious. The law warned; gifts and bribe are one. What’s more, the giver and the receiver are also equally guilty in this case!

Funny indeed, COA Regional Director Salvador Isiderio cannot compel Mrs. Edina Balboa, a subordinate city-auditor, to submit the required annual audit reports of that Barangay in La Paz District to the Asst. Ombudsman for the Visayas since March 2012.

Jurisprudence dictates; lex reprobate moram- the law disapproves of delay. COA personnel should know the public expect them to act promptly for the Ombudsman to also do what should be done. I hope they have already settled this problem.

This country seems to have gone crazy. Look, during his campaign sorties P-Noy promised us the FOI but all of a sudden he gave us the Cybercrime Law instead. Then “daang matuwid.” Maganda sana itong daang matuwid ng Pangulo kaya lang, madilim……walang ilaw!