QUICK FACTS

COA PERFORMANCE ON KEY INDICATORS Local Government Entities account

for more than half of over 60,000
total auditees
Grade C (Substantial)
in the World Bank’s Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) 15%
Independence Index 2021 NGAs/
66,428 GOCCs
Total Auditees
Score in 2021 Open Budget Survey 56%
28% Local Gov’t
No Team Agencies
Assigned*

89 out of 100
on budget oversight by SAI
(PH among the top 23
out of 120 countries)
1%
78 out of 100 (Adequate) SUCs/ Water
on the extent of opportunities for Districts
public participation in the audit *Auditees with no designated / dedicated COA audit team
stage of the budget process Source of basic data: COA website (as of 30 April 2023)

Increasing Share of Unqualified Audit Opinion on NGAs’ Financial Statements

Share to Total Number of Audit Opinions (%)
Opinion 2018 2019 2020 2021
Unmodified 37.4 44.1 48.1 57.0
Modified 62.6 55.9 51.9 43.0
of which:
Qualified 57.9 49.5 48.1 38.3
Adverse 4.2 6.4 2.7 3.1
Disclaimer of Opinion 0.5 0.0 1.1 1.6
TOTAL Audit Opinions Issued 190 188 183 193
Management Letters (MLs) 1/ 6 0 10 6
Issued to agencies with incomplete set of books of accounts or no financial statement (FS) submitted on COA deadline
1/

Source of basic data: 2018-2021 Annual Financial Report for the National Government (Volume I)

More than 47% of COA’s Previous Years’ Recommendations (PYRs)

were not implemented by NGAs as of end of December 2021

Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4

Executive Oversight and Public Debt Legislative, Judiciary and Defense and
Offices Management Agencies Constitutional Offices Security
994 1,083 557 1,430
68.5% 48.8% 54.8% 54.6%
Total PYRs (NGAs) 31.5% 51.2% 45.2% 45.4%
10,487
52.4% Cluster 5 Cluster 6 Cluster 7 Cluster 8
Education and Health and Public Works, Agriculture and
47.6% Employment Science Transport and Energy Environment
2,989 1,922 845 667
49.6% 50.6% 52.0% 45.1%
50.4% 49.4% 48.0% 54.9%

Source of basic data: 2021 Annual Financial Report for the National Government (Volume I) LEGEND: IMPLEMENTED NOT IMPLEMENTED
 HIGHLIGHTS

q Expenditure Program. The total proposed appropriations for COA in 2024 amounts to about
P13.4 billion—of which P12.7 billion (95.2%) are new appropriations while P635.9 million
(4.8%) are automatic appropriations. About P12.5 billion (93.9%) of the total expenditure
program is for Personal Services (PS) while the remaining P690.6 million (5.2%) and
P126.8 million (0.9%) are for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and
Capital Outlays (CO), respectively.

q New Appropriations by Cost Structure. The total new appropriations proposed for COA in
2024 amounts to P12.7 billion. Half (50%) of this will be allocated for General Administration
and Support (GAS) amounting to P6.4 billion, while about 47.1% will be allotted for
Operations which amounts to almost P6.0 billion. The remaining 3.0% equivalent to P377.1
million is for Support to Operations.

q Allocation by Major Programs. The Government Auditing Program gets the largest share of
P5.7 billion or 95.9% of the total 2024 Operations Budget (P6.0 billion) of the COA. Some
3.0% of this will be allotted for the Government Financial Adjudication Program with an
amount of P181.0 million, while 1.1% will be set aside for the Government Accountancy
Program with a budget of P66.8 million.

Key Issues and Challenges

q Unfilled Positions. With a total of 5,157 plantilla positions remaining unfilled, the share of
unfilled to authorized positions next year (38.8%) could worsen the substantial gap in
personnel complement between the current staff complement of COA and the total
number of auditees under COA jurisdiction. As of 30 April 2023, about 28% of the total
auditees do not have its designated/dedicated COA audit team.

q Budgetary cuts in allocations for Operations.. Next year's Operations budget will be lower by P139.9
million or 2.3% compared to 2023, as a result of a reduction in the budget for Government
Auditing Program particularly the auditing sub-program of national government agencies
(NGAs) which declined by 55.6%.

q Budget Utilization and Unused Appropriations. While budget utilization of COA is high, unused
appropriations amounting to P245.6 million in 2022 could be used to further provide for
programs, such as capacity-building to mainstream the use of COA-developed accounting
and financial management applications/systems.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. Mandate and Organizational Outcomes 1

II. Sources of Appropriations 2

Table 1 Sources of Funds (COA), 2022-2024 2

III. Expenditure Program 3

Table 2 Expenditure Program, 2022-2024 3

Table 3 Expenditure Program by General Expense Class, 2022-2024 4
Table 4 Number of Authorized and Unfilled Positions, 2020-2024 4
Table 5 Regional Distribution of the COA Budget, 2022-2024 5

IV. New Appropriations 6

Table 6 New Appropriations by Cost Structure, 2022-2024 6

Table 7 Summary of Programs for 2022-2024 7

V. Performance Review 8

Table 8 Obligations-Appropriations Ratio and Unused Appropriations, 2020-2022 8

Table 9 Disbursement Rate, 2020-2022 9
Table 10 Budget Utilization by Major Program, 2022 9
Table 11 Performance Indicators of Major Programs, 2022-2024 10

VI. COA Findings and Recommendations 12

Table 12 Status of Implementation of COA Recommendations 13

 COMMISSION ON AUDIT*

I. MANDATE AND ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES

1.1. Constitutional Mandate. The Commission on Audit (COA), as the country’s supreme
audit institution, is vested with the power, authority, and duty to examine, audit, and
settle all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or uses of
funds and property, owned or held in trust by, or pertaining to, the Government, in
accordance with Section 2 (1), Article IX-D of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

1.2. The jurisdiction of COA extends to all branches of government or any of its
subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled
corporations with original charters. On a post-audit basis, COA jurisdiction is also
extended to include: (a) constitutional bodies, commissions and offices that have been
granted fiscal autonomy under the Constitution; (b) autonomous state colleges and
universities; (c) other government-owned or controlled corporations and their
subsidiaries; and (d) non-government institutions receiving subsidy or equity from the
government, including foreign-based government agencies.

1.3. Organizational Outcomes. In line with Chapter 14 of the Philippine Development

Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 on Practice Good Governance and Improve Bureaucratic Efficiency to
bolster public accountability and integrity, the COA is committed in attaining its
organizational outcome of public accountability upheld and efficiency, economy and effectiveness of
government programs improved. This is in line with the sectoral goals under the PDP 2023-
2028, particularly:

q Transparency in public spending intensified. Budget transparency is prioritized through the

improvement of the Open Budget Index (OBI) country score.

q Improved effectiveness and efficiency in the use of public resources. Opportunities for public
participation in auditing and budgeting processes will be broadened.

q Improved efficiency of government. COA rules and regulations will be reviewed and
simplified to support the achievement of people-centered, innovative, clean, efficient,
effective, and inclusive delivery of public goods and services.

*
This document was prepared by Anthony Arvin V. Salazar as input to the deliberations of the House Committee on
Appropriations on the FY 2024 proposed National Budget. The report benefitted from the inputs of Julius Ibay Dumangas,
Director Pamela Diaz-Manalo, Executive Director Novel V. Bangsal, and from the overall guidance of Deputy Secretary-
General Romulo Emmanuel M. Miral, Jr., PhD. The Publications Team is also acknowledged for the layout/design of the
ABN’s Infographics and Quick Facts. The views, perspectives, and interpretations in this ABN do not necessarily reflect the
positions of the House of Representatives as an institution or its individual Members. A copy of this publication is available at the
CPBRD’s website: cpbrd.congress.gov.ph.

1
II. SOURCES OF APPROPRIATIONS

2.1. The total available appropriations for COA in 2024 amounts to about P13.4 billion,
consisting of P12.7 billion (95.2%) in new appropriations and P635.9 million (4.8%) in
automatic appropriations (Table 1). The proposed new appropriations for COA next year
is P593.4 million or 4.5% lower than the 2023 level. Automatic appropriations are
included in annual budgets by virtue of a law (s) (i.e., Commonwealth Act No. 186 and
Republic Act No. 660) but no longer requires Congressional approval. For 2024,
automatic appropriations consist of payments for the Retirement and Life Insurance
Premiums (RLIP) of COA employees.

TABLE 1
SOURCES OF FUNDS, 2022-2024
COMMISSION ON AUDIT
Amounts (In Million Pesos) Share to Total Appropriations
Particulars
2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024

New Appropriations 13,991.4 13,318.0 12,724.7 91.7 93.7 95.2

Supplemental Appropriations - - - - - -

Automatic Appropriations 670.8 645.2 635.9 4.4 4.5 4.8

Continuing Appropriations 100.9 245.6 - 0.7 1.7 -

Budgetary Adjustments 501.1 - - 3.3 - -

Total Available Appropriations 15,264.3 14,208.9 13,360.5 100.0 100.0 100.0

LESS: Unused Appropriations 245.6 245.6 -

Total Obligations 15,018.7 13,963.3 13,360.5
Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding off.
Source of basic data: NEP 2024

2.2. Since the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides the Judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman
and the Constitutional Commissions, including the COA with fiscal autonomy, its
unused appropriations can be carried over and become part of its continuing
appropriations for the succeeding fiscal years. For the current fiscal year (2023), COA has
a total of P245.6 million in continuing appropriations.

2.3. Under COA Special Provision No. 4, the FY 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP)
provides that the Commission shall assess government-owned and -controlled
corporations or GOCCs for the cost of audit services rendered in accordance with EO
271, s. 1987. Proceeds from such assessments, including receipts derived from other
sources authorized under the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines (PD 1445)
shall be deposited with the National Treasury as income of the General Fund in
accordance with the Administrative Code of 1987 (EO 292, s. 1987).

2.4. Under COA Special Provision No. 2, the Commission through the Chairperson of COA
is authorized to use savings to augment actual deficiencies in accordance with the 1987
Philippine Constitution and the General Provisions of the FY 2024 NEP.

2
2.5. More than half (51.0%) of the total budgetary adjustments in 2022 are transfers from
unprogrammed appropriation amounting to P255.4 million for payment of personnel
benefits. The remaining portion is made up of transfers from the Miscellaneous
Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) amounting to P245.8 million.

III. EXPENDITURE PROGRAM

3.1. Table 2 shows the expenditure program of COA for the period 2022-2024. The
proposed total expenditure program for COA in 2024 amounts to almost P13.4 billion
which is about P602.7 million (4.3%) lower than this year’s programmed level. Actual
spending in 2022 is relatively higher than the programmed and proposed years due to
budgetary adjustments made within the year. Figures for 2023 and 2024 have not taken
into account any budgetary adjustments yet.

TABLE 2
EXPENDITURE PROGRAM, 2022-2024
(AMOUNTS IN MILLION PESOS)
Increase / Growth
Year Amount
(Decrease) Rate (%)

2022 Actual 15,018.7 875.6 6.2

2023 Program 13,963.3 (1,055.4) (7.0)

2024 Proposed 13,360.5 (602.7) (4.3)

Source of basic data: BESF 2024

3.2. Table 3 presents the breakdown of the COA expenditure program for the period 2022-
2024 by expense class. The bulk of the proposed budget for COA will go to Personal
Services (PS) amounting to P12.5 billion next year. This will cover payments for salaries,
wages, and other compensation of COA employees. While this is P74.2 million lower
than this year’s programmed level of P12.6 billion, the share of PS to total COA budget
for 2024 increased to 93.9% (higher by 3.5 percentage points). This is primarily attributed
to a drop in the allocation for Capital Outlays (CO) resulting in a much lower budget
share.

3.3. COA expenditure for CO is expected to drop by 82.0% to P126.8 million which is the
main contributor to the overall decline in the Commission's budget for 2024. Proposed
spending for CO next year will receive a budget cut of about P575.9 million thereby
decreasing its share of the COA budget to less than 1.0%. Note that CO covers
expenditures that add to the assets of the government and whose benefits extend beyond
the fiscal year.

3
 3.4. Only Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) will receive a budget
increment of P47.4 million for 2024 leading to an increase in its budget share to 5.2%.
This covers expenditure items that provide support to the operations of the agency such
as supplies and materials, transportation and travel, utilities and repairs.

TABLE 3
EXPENDITURE PROGRAM BY GENERAL EXPENSE CLASS, 2022-2024
(AMOUNTS IN MILLION PESOS)
Amounts (In Million Pesos) Share to Total (%)
Particulars 2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024
Actual Program Proposed Actual Program Proposed

PS 13,659.5 12,617.3 12,543.1 90.9 90.4 93.9

MOOE 712.9 643.2 690.6 4.7 4.6 5.2

CO 646.3 702.8 126.8 4.3 5.0 0.9

Fin Ex - - - - - -

TOTAL 15,018.7 13,963.3 13,360.5 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source of basic data: BESF 2024

3.5. Table 4 presents the number of authorized and unfilled positions in COA from 2020 to
2024. After decreasing by 819 in 2021, the authorized positions in the COA remained at
13,283 for four (4) consecutive years. The share of unfilled to authorized positions has
continuously decreased from 41.3% in 2020 to 38.8% in 2023. For next year, COA is
expected to retain 13,283 authorized positions with a total of 5,157 unfilled plantilla
positions.

TABLE 4
NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED
AND UNFILLED POSITIONS, 2020-2024

Year Authorized Positions Unfilled Positions

2020 14,102 5,824

2021 13,283 5,420
2022 13,283 5,157
2023 13,283 5,157
2024 13,283 5,157
Source: Staffing Summary 2022-2024

3.6. The substantial gap between the current personnel complement of COA and the total
number of auditees (or agencies under COA jurisdiction) could have an impact on the
delivery of service by and performance of COA as the country’s Supreme Audit
Institution (SAI). As of 30 April 2023, about 28% of the total auditees (66,428) do not
have its designated/dedicated COA audit team.1

1 COA at a Glance, The Auditees (as of April 30, 2023) from COA website (www.coa.gov.ph).

4
3.7. Table 5 presents the breakdown of the COA budget by regional distribution for the
period 2022-2024. More than half (61.2%) of the proposed COA budget for next year
will be allotted to the Central Office level amounting to almost P8.2 billion. This is lower
by P1.5 billion (15.7%) compared to this year’s programmed level of P9.7 billion. As a
result, the ‘regionalized’ budget for COA will have an increased share of 38.8% to the
total 2024 budget. About P5.2 billion of the COA budget is appropriated across different
regions.

TABLE 5
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE COA BUDGET, 2022-2024
(AMOUNTS IN MILLION PESOS)
2022 Actual 2023 Program 2024 Proposed
Region
Amount Share (%) Amount Share (%) Amount Share (%)

Nationwide - - - - - -

Central Office 9,233.0 61.5 9,710.6 69.5 8,183.0 61.2

NCR - - - - - -

CAR 395.2 2.6 51.0 0.4 366.0 2.7

Region 1 434.1 2.9 397.6 2.8 388.3 2.9

Region 2 341.8 2.3 45.2 0.3 327.5 2.5

Region 3 489.5 3.3 42.1 0.3 422.6 3.2

Region 4A 431.0 2.9 386.1 2.8 405.4 3.0

Region 4B 293.3 2.0 247.2 1.8 261.6 2.0

Region 5 440.3 2.9 399.2 2.9 405.5 3.0

Region 6 353.4 2.4 334.6 2.4 352.0 2.6

Region 7 267.8 1.8 267.9 1.9 261.7 2.0

Region 8 406.6 2.7 375.8 2.7 343.7 2.6

Region 9 357.1 2.4 277.3 2.0 289.3 2.2

Region 10 405.4 2.7 430.3 3.1 359.7 2.7

Region 11 314.9 2.1 284.8 2.0 297.8 2.2

Region 12 262.8 1.7 242.7 1.7 242.4 1.8

CARAGA 328.1 2.2 289.5 2.1 280.8 2.1

BARMM 264.5 1.8 181.5 1.3 173.0 1.3

TOTAL 15,018.7 100.0 13,963.3 100.0 13,360.5 100.0

Source of basic data: BESF 2024

3.8. The COA regional cluster in Luzon will get the biggest share of the 2024 budget among
the three (3) island groups equivalent to 19.3% of the total. From P1.6 billion this year,
the allocation for Luzon increases to P2.6 billion for 2024. Region 3 will receive the
biggest allocation (P422.6 million) among all regions next year.

3.9. Next year, Mindanao cluster will get a budget allocation of P1.6 billion. Despite a lower
budget allocation compared to this year’s level of P1.7 billion, Mindanao’s share of the
total budget slightly increases to 12.3%. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in

5
 Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will receive the lowest share among regions for next year
with only P173.0 million or 1.3% of the total COA budget. Similarly, the Visayas cluster
will also get a budget cut of about P20.9 million for next year but its share will increase to
7.2% of total COA budget.

IV. NEW APPROPRIATIONS

4.1. As shown in Table 6, half of the proposed new appropriations for COA in the FY 2024
NEP will be provided for General Administration and Support (GAS). The
appropriations for GAS have continuously declined for two consecutive years from P7.3
billion in 2022 to this year’s level of P6.9 billion. For 2024, it is expected to decrease
further by 7.9% to P6.4 billion. This likewise resulted in the steady decline in budget
share for GAS from 52.0% in 2022 to 50.0% next year. Note that GAS is the cost
component consisting of activities and projects that deals with the provision of overall
administrative management and operational support to the agency operations.

TABLE 6
NEW APPROPRIATIONS BY COST STRUCTURE, FY 2022-2024
Amounts (In Million Pesos) Share to Total (%)
Particulars
2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024

General Administration and Support 7,281.9 6,905.8 6,358.8 52.0 51.9 50.0

Support to Operations 466.0 283.5 377.1 3.3 2.1 3.0

Operations 6,243.5 6,128.7 5,988.8 44.6 46.0 47.1

TOTAL 13,991.4 13,318.0 12,724.7 100.0 100.0 100.0

Sources of basic data: GAA 2022-2023 and NEP 2024

4.2. The other 47.1% of the new appropriations for COA in 2024 is for Operations
amounting to almost P6.0 billion. This covers expenditures that relate to the main
purpose for the creation of COA, including its direct production of goods or delivery of
services or direct engagement in regulations. Proposed spending for Operations is
expected to decrease by 2.3% (or P139.9 million) next year. However, unlike GAS, the
budget share for Operations will continue to expand in 2024 from its current share of
46.0%.

4.3. The remaining 3.0% of the proposed new appropriations in 2024 will be provided for the
Support to Operations (STO) of COA which amounts to P377.1 million. STO is the only
cost component that will nominally increase next year receiving a budget increment of
P93.6 million. Note that STO consists of activities and projects that provide staff,
technical, and/or substantial support to operations, but do not directly produce goods or
deliver services to client groups external to the agency (BESF).

4.4. Table 7 presents the summary of programs under the COA for the period 2022-2024. As
mentioned in Item 4.2, the proposed budget for Operations of COA next year will
receive a budget cut of P139.9 million, bringing its allocation down to P6.0 billion. This is

6
 largely due to the decreases in the proposed 2024 budget for the sub-programs of
National and Corporate Government Auditing and Special Audit under the Government
Auditing Program of the COA.

4.5. In particular, the National Government Auditing Sub-Program will decrease by 55.6%
(or P987.2 million) to P787.6 million, bringing down its share of total Operations budget
to 13.2% (from 29.0% in 2023). Additionally, both Special Audit and Corporate
Government Auditing Sub-Programs will also have budget cuts of about 21.2% and
6.9% next year, equivalent to reductions of P40.4 million and P39.5 million, respectively.
Note that appropriations for National Government Auditing and Special Audit Sub-
Programs this year both increased from last year (2022).

TABLE 7
SUMMARY OF PROGRAMS FOR 2022-2024
COMMISSION ON AUDIT
Amount (In Million Pesos) % Share to Total Program Growth
Rates
Program
'23-'24
2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024 (%)

Government Auditing Program 6,071.7 5,899.3 5,741.0 97.2 96.3 95.9 (2.7)

Local Government Auditing 4,167.5 3,323.8 4,170.5 66.7 54.2 69.6 25.5

National Government Auditing 1,043.7 1,774.8 787.6 16.7 29.0 13.2 (55.6)

Corporate Government Auditing 608.4 574.7 535.2 9.7 9.4 8.9 (6.9)

Special Audit 142.2 190.7 150.3 2.3 3.1 2.5 (21.2)

Technical Services & Systems Audit 109.8 35.3 97.3 1.8 0.6 1.6 175.4

Government Financial Adjudication Program 117.5 163.9 181.0 1.9 2.7 3.0 10.4

Government Accountancy Program 54.4 65.5 66.8 0.9 1.1 1.1 2.1

TOTAL Operations 6,243.5 6,128.7 5,988.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 (2.3)

Note: The amounts for programs and Total Operations include the proposed amounts for Projects which were presented separately
from the regular programs under Operations in the 2023 NEP/GAA and the 2024 NEP.
Source: GAA 2022-2023 and NEP 2024

4.6. Even with budget increases for Local Government Auditing (P846.7 million) and
Technical Services & Systems Audit (P62.0 million) Sub-Programs, the overall budget for
the Government Auditing Program will still decline by 2.7%, resulting in slightly lower
share at 95.9% of the total Operations budget for 2024.

4.7. On the other hand, the budget for the remaining two programs of the COA have been
steadily increasing since 2022. For 2024, the Government Financial Adjudication
Program will have an increased budget of P181.0 million, higher by 10.4% than this
year’s level. Meanwhile, the Government Accountancy Program will also receive a higher
allocation amounting to P66.8 million in 2024 compared to this year's budget of
P65.5 million.

7
V. PERFORMANCE REVIEW

5.1. The Obligation-Appropriations Ratio (OAR) measures the extent that the agency has
utilized its appropriations. When an agency obligates its appropriations, it enters into a
binding commitment to immediately or eventually pay a particular sum of money for the
delivery of certain goods and services by employees, suppliers, and contractors in its
behalf. The OAR of COA is on a steady increase at 98.4% in 2022, up by a percentage
point from 97.4% in 2020 (Table 8).

TABLE 8
OBLIGATIONS-APPROPRIATIONS RATIO
AND UNUSED APPROPRIATIONS, 2020-2022

Obligation-Appropriations Unused Appropriations

Year
Ratio (%) (In Million Pesos)

2020 97.4 356.0

2021 98.1 273.9

2022 98.4 245.6

Sources of basic data: NEP 2022-2024

5.2. The higher OAR resulted in the two-year consecutive drop of COA’s unused
appropriations from P356.0 million in 2020 to P273.9 million and P245.6 million in 2021
and 2022, respectively. Note that unused appropriations could either be unreleased
appropriation by the DBM or unobligated allotments of the agency.

5.3. In 2022, about 87.8% (or P215.6 million) of the total unused appropriations are
unobligated allotments of the COA while P30.0 million remain unreleased by the DBM.
However, majority of unused appropriations in 2020 and 2021 were actually unreleased
appropriations amounting to P179.5 million and P173.0 million, respectively. Note that
while the “GAA-as-Release Document” policy allows for the comprehensive release of
appropriations at the start of the year, there are appropriations (such as Special Purpose
Funds) that require Special Budget Requests subject to DBM guidelines. The primary
responsibility for obligating the funds already made available remains with the agency
(COA).

5.4. Table 9 shows that the disbursement rate of COA in 2022 is higher at 97.5% compared
to 97.0% in 2021 and 95.9% in 2020. This means that the Commission was able to
disburse P14.9 billion of its P15.3 billion appropriations in 2022. Budget utilization
performance based on disbursements shows the extent that appropriations have been
actually spent to pay for services performed or goods and services produced or delivered.

8
 TABLE 9
DISBURSEMENT RATE, 2020-2022
(AMOUNTS IN MILLION PESOS)
Particulars 2020 2021 2022

Appropriations 13,582.2 14,417.0 15,264.3

Disbursements 13,030.0 13,977.9 14,889.8

Disbursement Rate (%) 95.9 97.0 97.5

a/ Disbursement rate – ratio of disbursements to appropriations

Source: SAAODB 2020-2022 (Final), DBM

5.5. In terms of budget utilization by major program, the Commission obligated almost all of
its available funds in 2022 for all programs. Note that the Government Auditing
Program and Government Financial Adjudication Program have unobligated
appropriations of about P277,791 and P49,450, respectively.

5.6. All three (3) major programs of COA posted disbursement rates above 90% in 2022
(Table 10). The Government Auditing Program, which has the bulk of the FY 2022
appropriations, posted the highest disbursement at 99.3% while Government
Accountancy Program was only disbursed at 90.2%. According to the 2022 Financial
Accountability Report (FAR) No. 1 of COA, the Government Accountancy Program covers
the preparation of annual and other financial reports as may be required by the
Commission, among others.

TABLE 10
BUDGET UTILIZATION BY MAJOR PROGRAM, 2022
AMOUNTS IN MILLION PESOS
Obligation Disbursement
Program Appropriations Obligations Disbursements
Rate (%) a/ Rate (%) b/

Government Auditing Program 5,751.7 5,751.4 5,711.1 99.995 99.295

National Government Auditing 780.0 779.9 776.1 99.994 99.496

Corporate Government Auditing 553.8 553.6 549.1 99.975 99.151

Local Government Auditing 4,096.5 4,096.5 4,069.9 100.000 99.350

Special Audit 163.6 163.5 159.5 99.976 97.485

Technical Services & Systems Audit 157.9 157.8 156.7 99.967 99.242

Government Accountancy Program 65.7 65.7 59.3 100.000 90.213

Govt Financial Adjudication Program 97.2 97.2 91.9 99.949 94.577

TOTAL Operations 5,914.6 5,914.3 5,862.3 99.994 99.116

a/ Obligation rate – ratio of obligations to appropriations

b/ Disbursement rate – ratio of disbursements to appropriations
Source: SAAODB 2022 (FAR No. 1 in Transparency Seal)

9
 5.7. With the FY 2024 NEP strongly aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP)
2023-2028’s overarching goal of economic transformation, the practice of open, efficient,
and accountable governance is required to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient
society. One of the four (4) outcomes being pursued in the PDP 2023-2028 on the
practice of good governance and improvement in bureaucratic efficiency (under Chapter
14) is attaining a bolstered public accountability and integrity by fostering higher levels of
trust, satisfaction, and political efficacy among the public.

5.8. To bolster public accountability and integrity, the PDP 2023-2028 highlights the need to
intensify transparency in public spending as one of its main strategies. To measure this,
the country’s Open Budget Index (OBI)2 score is included in the PDP Results Matrix as
an indicator for the said outcome. For 2023, the PDP intends to improve the OBI
country score by targeting a score of 71/100 (from a baseline of 68 in 2021).

5.9. Relevant to this, the organizational outcome (OO) that COA envisions to achieve is
upholding public accountability and improving efficiency, economy and effectiveness of
government programs. This will be measured through the performance indicators shown
in Table 11.

TABLE 11
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF MAJOR PROGRAMS, 2022-2024
2022 2023 2024
Program
Target Actual Target Target

Government Auditing Program

Outcome Indicators
% of audit reports transmitted to auditees, Congress on time
National Government Auditing 100% 100% 100% 100%
Corporate Government Auditing 100% 95.38% 100% 100%
Local Government Auditing 100% 100% 100% 100%
% of audit recommendations implemented by agencies
National Government Auditing 50% 56.64% N/A N/A
Corporate Government Auditing 50% 66.97% N/A N/A
Local Government Auditing 47% 53.04% N/A N/A
% of audit recommendations agree to be implemented by management
National Government Auditing N/A N/A 60% 60%
Corporate Government Auditing N/A N/A 60% 60%
Local Government Auditing N/A N/A 60% 60.66%
% of settlement of over/under remittance in the collection of levies 10% 140% 10% 10%
% of complaints/requests (audit acted upon vs. received) N/A N/A 80% 80%
% of recom from tech evaluation/inspection/appraisal reports accepted N/A N/A 100% 100%
% of recommendations from IS/IT audit/evaluation accepted 50% 86% 50% 50%
% of recommendations from pre-assessment accepted N/A N/A 80% 50%

2 The Open Budget Index or OBI measures the extent of budget transparency in terms of easy and timely access to the full range of
information on a country’s budget. Budget transparency, along with public participation (in the budget process) and budget oversight
are the three fundamental metrics being tracked under the Open Budget Survey (OBS) conducted biennially by the International
Budget Partnership (IBP).

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 2022 2023 2024
Program
Target Actual Target Target

Output Indicators
No. of Govt Audit Reports transmitted within the reglementary period
National Government Auditing 322 325 327 324
Corporate Government Auditing 577 570 577 571
Local Government Auditing 1,742 1,742 1,737 1,747
No. of transmitted AARs published in the COA website
National Government Auditing 311 323 317 321
Corporate Government Auditing 577 570 574 569
Local Government Auditing 1,742 1,742 1,737 1,747
No. of Fraud Case Evaluation Reports submitted by teams (FAO) 160 161 160 160
No. of Fraud/Special/Performance Audit Reports released 21 21 21 18
No. of Notices of Disallowance (NDs)/Notices of Charge (NCs) issued 304 367 308 158
No. of Performance Audit Reports published in the COA website 3 3 3 4
No. of Technical Evaluation Reports rendered 7,665 9,326 7,666 7,757
No. of Inspection Reports rendered 7,364 7,364 6,676 7,806
No. of Appraisal Reports rendered 761 914 763 851
No. of IS/IT audits/evaluation conducted 12 15 12 12
No. of Pre-Assessment Reports issued to IAU/IAS of govt agencies N/A N/A 4 6
Government Accountancy Program
Outcome Indicators
% of AFRs & ARAAOD submitted/transmitted to OP & Congress on time 100% 100% 100% 100%
% implementation of accounting standards developed/disseminated 90% 93% 90% 90%
% inc of agencies using COA-developed apps w/ submitted FS on time* 5% 49.94% 8% 32%
Output Indicators
No. of AFRs & ARAAOD submitted to OP and Congress on deadline 4 4 4 4
No. of users trained & assisted in using COA-developed systems* 2,070 3,287 2,240 2,240
No. of acctg standards, policies, rules & regulations formulated/developed 5 5 5 5
% of agencies which implemented COA-developed systems* 70% 100% 60% 60%
Government Financial Adjudication Program
Outcome Indicators
% of COA decisions appealed before the SC 12% 65.72% N/A N/A
% of COA decisions affirmed by the SC 90% 345.13% 50% 50%
% of cases decided at Cluster/Regional level vs. total cases outstanding N/A N/A 30% 34.35%
% of COA Orders of Execution enforced 10% 63.6% N/A N/A
% of COA Orders of Execution issued N/A N/A 2.5% 2.5%
% Notice of Finality of Decisions w/ COE issued (Cluster Dir./Auditor) N/A N/A 100% 100%
Output Indicators
No. of cases decided 1,517 1,700 625 625
No. of COA Orders of Execution issued 55 160 40 30
No. of COA comments/pleadings to Certiorari petitions prepared 4 40 16 16
*COA-developed computerized application/systems on government accounting and financial management
Source: NEP 2024

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5.10. Under the Government Auditing Program, COA reported 100% of audit reports of
NGAs and LGUs were submitted to the auditees and to Congress. However, only 95.4%
was accomplished for the audit reports from GOCCs, 570 out of 577 government audit
reports transmitted within the reglementary period, and 570 out of 577 annual audit
reports (AARs) published in the COA website.

5.11. Performance of other indicators under the Government Auditing Program also show
that all targets were met, with some exceeding the target levels set for 2022—such as the
issuance of Notices of Disallowance (NDs) and Charge (NCs); the rendered Technical
Evaluation and Appraisal Reports; and, the conduct of IS/IT audit/evaluation.

5.12. Under the Government Accountancy Program, the COA met/exceeded its targets in
2022, achieving 100% submission/transmittal of Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) and
Annual Report on Appropriations, Allotments, Obligations and Disbursements
(ARAAOD); 93% on implementation of accounting standards developed/disseminated;
and, 49.9% increase in agencies using COA-developed computerized application/systems
on government accounting and financial management with financial statement (FS)
submitted on COA deadline.

5.13. While the COA saw 65.7% of its decisions being appealed before the Supreme Court
(SC), it posted an SC affirmation rate of 345.1% for its actual decisions in 2022 (under
the Government Financial Adjudication Program). It was also able to enforce 63.6% of
its Orders of Execution. Also, COA was able to exceed its targets in 2022 based on
output indicators—deciding on a total of 1,700 cases, the issuance of 160 Orders of
Execution, and the preparation of 40 comments/pleadings to Certiorari petitions.

VI. COA FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1. To ensure integrity of fiscal and financial transactions of the government, the Philippine
Constitution mandated the Commission on Audit to prepare an Annual Audit Report
(AAR) which contains observations and recommendations on the reliability and accuracy
of financial reports, and the proper utilization of public funds. Results of audit are
reported in the AAR for each audited agency, including the COA itself. The latest AAR
for COA is available in the COA website.

6.2. Table 12 provides the summary of the implementation status of COA recommendations
for the period 2018-2022. Note that the COA reports on the agency’s actions to address
prior year's recommendations (PYRs), and reiterates those that are not implemented
within their respective AARs. Thus, the number of PYRs for an agency measures the
quality of its public financial management (PFM) and its responsiveness to address PFM
issues identified during COA audits.

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 TABLE 12
STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF COA RECOMMENDATIONS
(AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022)
Implemented Not Implemented
Particulars Total
Number (%) Number (%)
2018 54 49 90.7 5 9.3
2019 24 15 62.5 9 37.5
2020 35 12 34.3 23 65.7
2021 52 43 82.7 9 17.3
2022 37 29 78.4 8 21.6
Source: Annual Audit Reports 2018-2022 (Part 3)

6.3. The latest (2022) AAR of COA reports a total of 37 PYRs for COA itself which is lower
than the 52 PYRs reported from the previous year (2021). However, its compliance rate
decreased by 4.3 percentage points from 82.7% to 78.4% on account of the bigger share
of PYRs that were not implemented (despite fewer unimplemented PYRs in 2022).

6.4. Unimplemented PYRs. Majority of the unimplemented PYRs from the 2022 AAR of
COA pertain to public financial management (PFM)-related issues, particularly resulting
from weak internal controls and administrative lapses. These are summarized in the
following reported findings from the 2022 AAR:

q Non-adjustment of four overstated Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) accounts

with total amount of P7.7 million, and the non-submission of the report of
unserviceable PPEs

q Non-provision of allowance for impairment loss on the dormant receivable accounts

worth P3.9 billion

q The reconciliation and preparation of Report of Physical Count of PPE is still

ongoing to resolve issue of no physical count of PPE conducted for PPEs with
aggregate balance of P276.1 million

q Cleansing of financial statement with unnecessary accounts totaling P1.6 billion

through request for write-off is ongoing

q Non-pursuance of programs/projects intended to address concerns of senior citizens

and persons with disability which are supposed to be incorporated in the Gender and
Development (GAD) activities of the Commission

q Failure to remit the balance due to Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF)
which is a portion of the total amount of P100,279.58 that remains unremitted for six
years to date

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6.5. Key Findings from Current Year’s (2022) Recommendations. The COA rendered
an Unqualified opinion on the fairness of presentation of its financial statements for 2022.
However, the following are some of the key findings in the 2022 AAR of COA:

Pecuniary Loss

q Underutilization of the grant from the Saudi Fund for Improved Supreme Audit
Institutions Performance (Saudi FISP) worth P4.1 million due to unimplemented
ICT solutions indicated in the proposal

q Non-settlement of Notices of Disallowance amounting to P1.3 million, and

Suspension amounting to P92,969.71 by COA

Weak Internal Controls and Administrative Lapses

q Overstated balance of PPE accounts with an aggregate balance of P2.9 billion by

P30.7 million due to accounting errors

q Erroneous recording of prior years’ audit services totaling P5.3 million leading to
overstating/understating of certain accounts

q Various accounting deficiencies totaling P475.4 million were not rectified, as follows:
(a) lack of supporting documents for reconciliation of items (P257,500.00); (b)
unreconciled difference between accounting records and GOCC book of accounts,
and existence of dormant accounts (P466.5 million); (c) unserviceable semi-
expendable property not covered in the inventory and inspection report (P540,216.08
as ICT and P40,099.30 as other equipment); and, (d) unreconciled balances between
Accounting and Property records (P964,078.70 for Inventory Held for Consumption,
P2.0 million for Semi-Expendable Properties and P5.1 million for PPE)

q Non-disposal of unserviceable properties amounting to P11.4 million

q No physical count conducted of Inventory and PPE accounts (amounting to

P740,656.19 and P143.9 million, respectively) to establish existence and accuracy

q Discrepancies in the submissions and uploading to the Government Service

Insurance System (GSIS) electronic Billing and Collection System (eBCS) covering
current and prior years amounting to P3.9 million and P5.3 million, respectively due
to unmatched items between accounting records and the uploaded remittance lists

q Non-pursuance of programs/projects intended to address concerns of senior citizens

and persons with disability which are supposed to be incorporated in the GAD
activities of the Commission

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 6.6. The 2022 AAR also noted some of the COA’s accomplishments in terms of compliance
with the following: (i) mainstreaming of GAD through the allocation of P2.0 billion or
14.1% of its total appropriations, and expenditures on various GAD activities amounting
to P1.1 billion; (ii) Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax laws, rules and regulations; (iii)
collection and remittance of government share, personal share and loan payments of its
employees to GSIS, Pag-IBIG (HDMF)3, and PhilHealth; and, (iv) obligation to secure
insurance coverage for all its assets and properties amounting to P3.1 billion, and
payment of P17.4-million premium as indemnity in the event of loss/damage to said
assets/properties.

REFERENCES

Commission on Audit. (2023). Annual Audit Report CY 2022: Commission on Audit. Manila, Philippines.
Retrieved from the COA website: https://www.coa.gov.ph/reports/annual-audit-reports/

________ (2023). Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) of National Government Agencies CY 2021. Manila, Philippines.
Retrieved from the COA website: https://www.coa.gov.ph/reports/annual-financial-reports/national-
government-agencies/

________ (2023). FAR No. 1: Statement of Appropriations, Allotments, Obligations, Disbursements and Balances
(SAAODB). Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the COA website:
https://www.coa.gov.ph/transparency/

________ (2022). Understanding the Audit Opinion. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the COA website:
https://www.coa.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Understanding-the-Audit-Opinion.pdf

________ (2020). Audit Performance Summary Report for CY 2011. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the COA
website: https://www.coa.gov.ph/reports/audit-performance-summary-reports/

Department of Budget and Management. (2023). National Expenditure Program Fiscal Year 2024 Agenda for
Prosperity: Securing a Future-Proof and Sustainable Economy. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM
website: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2024/national-expenditure-program-fy-
2024

________ (2023). The President’s Budget Message Fiscal Year 2024 Agenda for Prosperity: Securing a Future-Proof and
Sustainable Economy. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM website:
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2024/2024-president-s-budget-message

________ (2023). Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing FY 2024 Agenda for Prosperity: Securing a Future-
Proof and Sustainable Economy. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM website:
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2024/budget-of-expenditures-and-sources-of-
financing-fy-2024-besf

________ (2023). 2024 Budget-at-a-Glance (Proposed). Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM website:
https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2024/2024-people-s-budget/2024-budget-at-a-
glance-proposed

3 This only applies to deductions and remittance of total Pag-IBIG (HDMF) collections for Calendar Year 2022.

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________ (2023). Staffing Summary FY 2024 Agenda for Prosperity: Securing a Future-Proof and Sustainable Economy.
Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM website: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-
documents/2024/staffing-summary-2024

________ (2023). Statement of Allotment, Obligation and Balances. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved from the DBM
website: https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/programs-projects/statement-of-allotment-obligation-and-
balances

International Budget Partnership. (2022). Open Budget Survey 2021 (8th edition). Washington, D.C.: IBP
Headquarters. Retrieved from the IBP website: https://internationalbudget.org/open-budget-survey/

________ (2022). Open Budget Survey 2021 Country Results (Philippines). Washington, D.C.: IBP Headquarters.
Retrieved from the IBP website: https://internationalbudget.org/open-budget-survey/country-
results/2021/philippines

The World Bank. (2021). Supreme Audit Institutions Independence Index: 2021 Global Synthesis Report. Washington,
D.C.: World Bank Publications. Retrieved from the World Bank Group website:
https://insai.worldbank.org

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