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| - SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
At a glance
- Claim: Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Michael Aguinaldo is undermining the current administration through media releases and corruption allegations supposedly to put the Aquinos back in power.
- Rating: FALSE
- The facts: Aguinaldo does not issue press releases on annual audit reports. COA is mandated to post these on its website for transparency. These reports contain observations and recommendations reached by state auditors after checking the compliance of agencies with financial reporting standards.
- Why we fact-checked this: The video with the claim has gained 96,918 views, 3,300 likes, and 1,200 comments, as of writing.
Complete details
A video by Showbiz Fanaticz falsely insinuated that Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Michael Aguinaldo was undermining President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet with its reports because Aguinaldo was an appointee of the late former president Benigno Aquino III.
The video narration made other false claims in its attempt to prove that Aguinaldo was undermining the Duterte administration to return the reins of government to the Aquinos.
“Ito rin ang ilan sa naging komento ng netizens kaya tila hindi lamang DOH (Department of Health) maging halos lahat ng department heads ng pamahalaan ay tila inakusahan ng diumano’y pandarambong o korapsyon sa loob ng ahensya,” it said.
(These are some of the netizens’ comments on why it is not just the DOH but it seems almost all the department heads of the administration are being accused of corruption in their agencies.)
It cited a storified post by a certain Edward Zaragoza. “Kaya’t ayon mismo sa kanilang masusing imbestigasyon ito raw ay malinaw na paninira lamang sa administrasyong at para maibalik sa mga Aquino ang puwesto.”
(That’s why, according to their thorough investigation, it’s clear just an attempt to defame the administration so the reins of government can be returne to the Aquinos.)
The video posted on August 20, 2021, has gained 96,918 views, 3,300 likes, and 1,200 comments, as of writing.
The claim is false.
The video narration as well as the supposed source it cited contained multiple inaccuracies. The article cited in the video, which is apparently dated June 2, 2018, was published by philnews.xyz, a blog that has been fact-checked before.
First, it is COA’s constitutional mandate to examine, audit, and settle all accounts of the government. Thus, it releases annual audit reports (AARs) on government agencies and local government units.
The AARs released during the Duterte administration are routine. AARs on national government agencies during the Aquino administration can also be found on the COA website.
The video quoted Zaragoza in saying that Aguinaldo was “comparable to a track and field athlete in investigating or announcing to the media cases against government officials under the administration of Pres. Duterte while he is so slow or did not make any report against officials of the Aquino admin.” Zaragoza claimed that in the case of former tourism secretary Wanda Teo, Aguinaldo “submitted a report to the mainstream media.”
Aguinaldo does not give out press releases on state audits. COA publishes AARs and other audit reports on their website for transparency.
COA’s press releases can be found here. The most recent COA press release, dated August 13, even clarified that the AAR of the DOH “does not mention any findings by the auditors of funds lost to corruption.”
In 2018, it did not “submit a report to the mainstream media” on the issues of the Department of Tourism (DOT) under Teo, which included a P60-million payment that lacked proper documentation to the media outfit of Teo’s brother, Ben Tulfo.
That particular finding was contained in the 2017 audit report on the state-run People’s Television Network Incorporated. Other findings on delayed and inefficient projects were contained in the DOT’s 2017 audit report.
AARs include recommendations that audited agencies can comply with to rectify deficiencies cited in COA’s observations and findings.
COA earned the ire of Duterte after its 2020 AAR on DOH showed that pandemic funds worth P67 billion were used deficiently. Other misleading claims on COA have also cropped up on social media. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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