MANILA, Philippines – Commissioner Heidi Mendoza of the Commission on Audit (COA) faced the Commission on Appointments (CA) a third time on Wednesday, June 4, but again failed to secure the body’s approval.

Mendoza is seeking confirmation of her ad interim appointment. A whistleblower on military corruption, she was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III in 2011 as COA commissioner. 

Senator Jinggoy Estrada had vowed to block Mendoza’s confirmation, believing she was involved in the special audit that found Estrada and other lawmakers misusing their pork barrel. Mendoza had clarified in a previous confirmation hearing that she wasn’t part of the audit team.

Estrada grilled Mendoza during Wednesday’s hearing, raising some “valid issues” against her. 

He inquired about a unit in the upscale Serendra condominium in Taguig City which Mendoza purchased in 2007, when she was still a consultant for an international development agency.

She and her husband were jointly paying at least P75,000 a month for the condo unit. She also got loans from two banks to pay for it. The condo unit was awarded to them in 2010, she said.

“But when I was appointed to COA in 2011, I knew that I cannot pay for it anymore [due to my small monthly salary], so I returned the condo unit,” Mendoza said.

She was able to get back the money that she paid for the condo unit. It was then used to settle her bank loans.

“So that explains why [the condo unit] was not reflected in your 2011 statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN)?” asked Estrada.

“Yes, your honor, dahil hindi po na-transfer sa akin ‘yung property. Hindi nga po naging akin. Hindi pa po fully-paid at ibinalik ko na po bago pa ma-transfer sa akin,” Mendoza replied. (Yes, your honor, because the property was not transferred to me. I wasn’t able to own it. It was not fully-paid and I have returned it before it could be transferred to me.)

Estrada also asked about the frequency of Mendoza’s travels abroad while she was COA commissioner.

“Palagi po akong nandito [sa Pilipinas]. At pumapasok po ako araw-araw,” said Mendoza. (I’m always here in the Philippines. And I go to the office every day.)

Mendoza said she only went abroad to fulfill commitments in behalf of COA and to attend some conferences, and that majority of her travels were not shouldered by the government.

“Most of my flights are funded by the ‘disaster project’ (Strengthening of the Audit System and Accountability of the Calamity Funds). It’s not paid for by the government; it’s by development partners. It’s included in the technical assistance that is given to me,” Mendoza added.

Meanwhile, she said that there were a few flights shouldered by COA “due to our commitment as a member of the ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions.”

Calamity audit

Also during the confirmation hearing, Mendoza discussed with senators Loren Legarda and Ferdinand Marcos Jr the environmental and calamity audits that she had spearheaded.

The audits assessed the national and local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) systems, and monitored the government’s response and spending after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck the country in November 2013.

“The country did not have accounting guidelines at first. So we developed accounting guidelines for local government units and national government agencies,” she said.

Mendoza added that after Yolanda, COA validated entries in the FAiTH website, and compared records from the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to track the movement of donations and grants.

The audit also observed that from 2009 to 2013, allocations are still slanted towards disaster response, instead of disaster preparedness.

“The calamity spending of government is largely responsive or reactive,” she said. But Mendoza notes that progress has been made in terms of spending more for disaster preparedness.

“I apologize if we deviate a little, but I think this is equally important, and will reflect the competence of the nominee (Mendoza),” Legarda said.

Mendoza’s confirmation hearing was deferred to Wednesday, June 11, after today’s hearing was cut short due to a plenary session by the CA. Estrada vows to ask her more questions.

“I’m contented with some of her answers. But I’m not yet through. I’m not yet done,” he said. – Rappler.com