Fact Checks about media

FALSE: Media did not report on agencies with highest COA rating, other than OVP

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

FALSE: Media did not report on agencies with highest COA rating, other than OVP
News articles in 2020 and 2021 reported on several government agencies other than the OVP getting an "unqualified opinion," or the COA's highest rating
At a glance
  • Claim: Media did not report that agencies other than the Office of the Vice President (OVP) got the highest possible audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA). 
  • Rating: FALSE
  • The facts: News articles in 2020 and 2021 reported on several government agencies other than the OVP that got the highest rating or an “unqualified opinion” from the COA.
  • Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in an August 19 YouTube livestream by vlogger Banat By, with 36,328 views as of writing. The YouTube video was also shared on the Facebook pages “Banat By” and “MOCHA USON BLOG” as well as on some Facebook groups. 
Complete details

On August 19, vlogger Banat By, whose real name is Byron Cristobal, said in a YouTube livestream that the media did not report that agencies other than the Office of the Vice President (OVP) received the highest rating or an “unqualified opinion” from the Commission of Audit (COA). As of writing, the video has 36,328 views. 

At around the 1:06:00 mark of the video, Banat By said: “Pagdating sa OVP, COA gives OVP highest audit rating. O palakpakan! O ’di ba, bonggang bongga? Pag dating sa OVP, iba, hindi flag, ano? Highest COA rating. Pero dati, naalaala ninyo, itinackle din natin iyan, iyang highest COA rating na iyan. Even some of the attached agency ng PCOO (Presidential Communications Operations Office) ay mayroon ding highest rating, pero ang lumabas lang sa media, OVP lang. OVP lang may highest rating, iyong the rest hindi na lumabas sa media, tapos iyong iba, puro flag.” 

(When it comes to the OVP, COA gives the OVP the highest audit rating. Clap for them! Isn’t it great? When it comes to the OVP, it’s different, it’s not flagged, right? Highest COA rating. But before, you remember, we tackled it too, that highest COA rating. Even some of the attached agencies of PCOO also have the highest rating, but only the OVP was reported in the media. Only the OVP has the highest rating, the others were not reported in the media, and the rest all got flagged.)

In the video, Banat By also showed headlines of the OVP getting COA’s highest audit rating, taken from Inquirer.net on June 29, 2021 and from Rappler on September 6, 2020

The YouTube video was also shared on four August 19 posts in Banat By’s verified Facebook page “Banat By,” on four August 19 posts in the Facebook page “MOCHA USON BLOG,” and on the Facebook groups “PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT” and “PRESIDENT DUTERTE SOLID FB SUPPORTERS INTERNATIONAL.”

The claim is false.

As of writing, there are news articles featuring government agencies getting the highest audit rating from COA, which is an “unqualified opinion” (sometimes given as “unmodified opinion”). Examples of such articles published in 2020 or 2021, which are the years of publication of the two headlines that Banat By showed in the video, are the following:

In 2020

In 2021

The OVP has received COA’s “unqualified opinion” rating for their 2020 financial report, the third year in a row that they have attained the rating. (READ: Robredo’s office earns highest COA rating for 3rd straight year in 2020)

Rappler has fact-checked Banat By before for claiming that there are no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, according to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). – Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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.

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!