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Friday, March 29, 2024

Quiet commission

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The Commission on Audit is a constitutional commission that should be, first and foremost, independent.

It is not supposed to hog the headlines, and its officials and employees are not supposed to keep a high profile. They should be anonymous and devoid of any political color. Their work should be enough; it should speak for itself.

If there were a portal into the quiet workings of the commission, it would be its web site that contains the audit reports resulting from painstaking work.

The CoA can claim satisfactory performance of its job when its findings, by themselves, are able to raise awareness among the people and occasion changes in how government transactions are conducted.

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Findings can also spark public outrage and sway public opinion, and eventually move public officials to do as they must—if the right thing is not apparent to them in the first place.

We are reminded of the CoA’s role by the Department of Tourism controversy. The commission found that the DoT made a P60-million ad placement with the government network, PTV-4, specifically to a blocktimer at the station. The media company belonged to the Tourism Secretary’s brothers.

The glaring conflict of interest also called attention to the Secretary’s husband who is a board member of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

One of the brothers, quite predictably, attacked the CoA and its chairman, and other media organizations for “leaking” the report.

In the end, the brothers said they would return the money and the secretary’s husband will step down.

Do these responses convey admission of guilt or a triumph of accountability? Are they even enough?

For one controversy that gets to the public’s consciousness, there are dozens more that do not. Imagine then if more people could get read these reports and hold their officials accountable for their conduct.

The fight against corruption does not mean making noise all the time. It’s quiet work that provides sound, objective basis to call out erring officials and their cohorts. The CoA should be left as low-key and independent as it is—except when it is enabled to do its work better.

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