Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima called Mr. Duterte’s effort to dig up the Commission on Audit’s (COA) findings on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) under the Aquino Administration as “a clear case of misdirection.”
De Lima chided Duterte for falsely claiming that she and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas were also deficient in complying with COA requirements, saying that such accusation “is just plain rich in irony and hypocrisy,” as it comes from someone who does not even disclose his SALN.
“Duterte raising issue with COA reports on the DILG and the DOJ under the PNoy Administration is a clear case of misdirection. I challenge Duterte to file cases with the Ombudsman arising from those COA reports.”
“He cannot, because those accounts have long been settled and closed. The COA knows that. That is why no further cases were made out of those reports, and that is why Duterte, with all his penchant for filing fabricated cases against me, was not able to fabricate a case out of those COA reports,” she said in her Dispatch from Crame No. 1131.
De Lima served as Justice Secretary while Roxas was Interior and Local Government Secretary during the administration of former President Benigno S. Aquino III.
In a pre-recorded address last Aug. 24, Duterte hit De Lima and Roxas for old COA reports on supposed unliquidated funds of their respective agencies in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The said allegation was already answered by the DOJ at the time, which said nearly all cash advances had already been liquidated as of 2014.
De Lima said that unlike Duterte, she and Roxas and other Cabinet members of the Aquino Administration always took COA reports seriously, corrected whatever deficiencies were identified in their COA reports, and acted accordingly to comply with COA recommendations.
“Neither I nor Sec. Mar Roxas threatened the COA after those reports were released. Walang nagsisigaw sa aming dalawa sa telebisyon na winarak kami ng COA. At lalong hindi namin sinabihan ang COA na doktorin o “i-reconfigure” nila ang report nila. Hindi katulad ng iba diyan na daig pa ang telenobela sa hapon kung magdrama at magbanta laban sa COA,” she said.
“Hindi kami katulad ng mga ilang tao sa gobyerno ni Duterte na magngangangawngaw sa telebisyon, at lalong hindi katulad ni PNoy si Duterte na pagbabantaan ang COA dahil lamang ginawa nito ang trabaho nila,” she added.
Duterte recently ordered COA to “reconfigure” its audit reports on government agencies by saying there are no irregularities involved following the release of its reports flagging irregularities in several government agencies.
“Duterte, huwag ka nang magturo. Buking na buking ka na. Huwag ka nang mandamay at mag-akusa sa iba ng mga pinaglipasan nang mga isyu at luma nang mga paratang na hindi naman sinampa sa mga korte dahil nga wala namang basehan,” De Lima said.
“Malinaw na taon-taon nilalabas naming mga Gabinete ni PNoy ang aming SALN. Malinaw sa aming mga SALN na hindi namin pinagkakitaan ang gobyerno. Ikaw kailan mo ilalabas ang iyong SALN?” she asked. (30)