The coronavirus pandemic has so far highlighted a lot of issues, including the Duterte administration’s very problematic response to the health crisis.
The recently-published findings of the Commission on Audit further emphasized the government’s mishandling of the crisis, with several agencies being flagged for their misspending billions of pesos in public funds meant to protect people from the effects of the pandemic in 2020.
On Thursday, August 26, Newsbreak, the investigative arm of Rappler, will discuss the COA findings and how instructive these are to Filipinos who want to watch how their taxes are spent by the government. How do we ensure that those responsible for the unused and misused funds will be held accountable? How should the findings guide us in setting funding priorities in the remaining months of 2021, and scrutinizing the proposed 2022 budget? (READ: Often-ignored COA fuels pandemic outrage vs Duterte gov’t)
Joining investigative editor Miriam Grace A. Go will be reporters Lian Buan, who covers the anti-corruption agencies; Aika Rey, who specializes in budget reporting; and Ralf Rivas, who reports on public finance. – Rappler.com
Watch other Newsbreak Chats episodes in 2021:
- July 2021: Pangakong napako, probinsiyang nadaya
- June 2021: Usap-usapan, kampi-kampihan para sa 2022 halalan
- May 2021: Duterte’s China policy is setting the Philippines up for failure
- April 2021: Military priority: Community pantries or China ships in West PH Sea?
- March 2021: What went wrong in the Philippines’ pandemic response?
- February 2021: A closer look at Duterte’s drug war files, anti-communist budget
- January 2021: Discovering Cebu
How does this make you feel?