A Facebook (FB) post is falsely claiming the Commission on Audit (COA) found no irregularities in the utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget, citing the “unmodified opinion” given by the commission to the OVP in 2023.
Published on March 31, the inaccurate post bore a screenshot of COA’s 2023 audit opinion for the office, with a caption that reads:
“Andaming impeachable offense na na uncover mga kalaban ni Sara sa Congress, because they desperately needs to get rid of her, kasi nga she’s the biggest stumbling block for them and their agenda, BUT COA DID NOT FIND ANYTHING IRREGULAR! UNMODIFIED OPINION PA NGA!
(So many impeachable offenses were uncovered by Sara’s opponents in Congress because they desperately need to get rid of her, since she’s their biggest stumbling block to their agenda, BUT COA DID NOT FIND ANYTHING IRREGULAR! THEY EVEN ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION!)”
The commission explained that an unmodified or “unqualified” opinion is only issued “when the auditor concludes that financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.”
“As such, an unmodified/unqualified opinion does not necessarily mean that there were no misstatements found during the audit nor there were no uncorrected misstatements as at year-end,” COA said.
The commission added this opinion does not guarantee the audited agency’s full compliance with laws and regulations, or the efficient and effective use of funds in the agency’s programs and projects.
Based on the OVP’s 2023 Annual Audit Report, state auditors have in fact flagged several issues in some of the OVP’s programs, including its low budget utilization for the “Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day,” where only P600,000 of the P150 million was spent as of December 31, 2023.
COA also found that the OVP’s “PagbaBAGo Campaign” had “incomplete guidelines and procedures” for identifying beneficiaries, managing inventory, and distributing school bags and dental kits.
The spurious post emerged a day after House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V revealed more dubious names, resembling grocery items, allegedly listed as beneficiaries of the OVP’s P500 million confidential funds.
The fraudulent post has so far garnered 7,900 reactions, 697 comments, and 8,300 shares.
