Duterte went a step further by directing department heads to “ignore” COA because “nothing happens anyway.”It was Duterte’s latest rant against COA but consistent with his previous statements about the spending watchdog. Some audit reports had prompted some officials to resign out of delicadeza. Not ‘mere papers’Mendoza said Duterte was wrong in belittling audit reports because government agencies were just amiss in submitting documents. “There are really documents with incomplete paper work,” Duterte said last Monday. Aside from his rant against COA, Duterte followed it up with a statement declaring he continued to trust Duque and that if the health chief resigned, it wouldn’t be accepted.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer August 18, 2021 06:22 UTC