NATIONAL POLICE chief Guillermo T. Eleazar has instructed the force’s personnel to improve their coordination with internal auditors to avoid misinterpretations on the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) use of its funds.
“I am directing all the Police Regional Offices, the National Administrative Support Units, the National Operational Support Units and the National Headquarters to further improve their coordination with their respective Resident Auditors and immediately act on their observations,” Mr. Eleazar said in a news release on Thursday.
He said this would “prevent unnecessary situations when the PNP, or any of its unit, becomes the subject of the CoA (Commission on Audit) Annual Audit Reports which are eventually misconstrued as tantamount to misuse of funds, or worse, corruption.”
The directive was made after fellow officials explained to the police chief that CoA does not give audit reports to the media but posts these on its website for transparency as part of its Constitutional mandate.
Mr. Eleazar on Wednesday said the CoA should not share its audit reports with the media and must instead send these directly to the respective government agencies.
CoA made public its 2020 Audit Report earlier this week. The media has been reporting on items flagged by state auditors on the Department of Health, among other agencies.
“I stand corrected,” Mr. Eleazar said on Thursday.
Mr. Eleazar said the PNP takes all CoA observations seriously and has put various measures in place to improve their budget spending.
“I assure the Filipino people that the hard-earned money they give to the PNP through their taxes is safe and is wisely spent as part of our continuous commitment to genuine reforms that are anchored on transparency, accountability and professionalism,” Mr. Eleazar said. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago