Code of Ethics for Government Auditors

A recent memo from the Commission on Audit has reached our auditing agency that led my Audit Team Leader to return the cellphone previously given to her by our auditing agency.

The memo states:

In the interest of the service and in view of the grant of cellular phone card allowance to ATLs or OIC-A TLs, Sections 3.1.1.c and 3.1.3 under "Support to Audit Groups/Teams" of COA Circular No. 2011-001 dated July 5, 2011 are hereby

amended to read as follows:

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"3.1. 1 .c facilities such as electric power, water, communication (land telephone, telefax, internet connection, messengerial services), security services and janitorial services:"

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"3.1 .3 Auditors shall therefore, be provided with land telephone and/or telefax. Provision of telephone mobile, with or without line, and cell card allowance shall be discontinued or prohibited. In the event that Auditors have been provided with one, the same must be returned."

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This amendment shall take effect immediately.

I came to our auditing agency as part of the Commission on Audit (COA) with a clear mission of independence from my auditing agency and that my audit will not be compromised by the privileges the agency is giving to its auditors.

The active participation of COA in the promotion of good governance has received attacks from the media and government officers because of its numerous disallowances of extravagant and unnecessary government expenditures which involve government officers alleged with corruption cases. The media and these government officers accused COA as part of the corruption in the government and that its auditors are bribed from not auditing government transactions such in the case of the overpriced construction of the Makati parking lot cum office building, the amount of money received by the COA-MWSS, and plunder case the former COA Chairman Reynaldo Villar is facing regarding the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds.

The Preamble of Code of Ethics for Government Auditors provides that:

At the core of the public trust that characterizes public’ office is the command of morality by which the office holders bound to do right. Morality is the very essence of public ethics which is part and parcel of public office.

Section IV- Faithful Adherence to Standard Norms of Public Service further provides that:

It behooves the government auditor, as a public officer, to discharge his functions and duties with the highest degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, efficiency and independence, always bearing in mind his ultimate accountability to the sovereign people who are his real clients.

It is frustrating to know that there are government auditors who neglected their duties in the course of their service and has impaired their independence due to lack of self-restraint in the face of temptation. They have forgotten their zeal as a public servant and as a protector of public trust and connived with the people they are supposed to audit.

Section XII Administrative and Criminal Sanctions of the code finally states:

Any violation or infraction of the Code which partakes of the nature of an administrative offense under the Civil Service Law shall be a ground for disciplinary action against the erring government auditor in accordance therewith without prejudice to the corresponding criminal action under appropriate penal laws as may be warranted in the premises.

Some of my auditor colleagues in the government received their dismissal from service as proved guilty of bribery and other administrative offenses as stated under the code. Some of them have only experienced temporary separation from their office as long as 6 months.

Perhaps these issues involving the auditors in the committing of fraud, corruption and bribery are the reason behind the memo that had just been released and disseminated to other government agencies to return the cellphones received from our auditing agencies and discontinue any cellphone related allowance is a precaution that as auditors we are not allowed to receive such benefits and allowance that will impair our independence and will preclude us to render our audit and effect disallowances.