SC orders COA to comment on PDAF petition

Supreme Court of the Philippines. Photo by Mike Gonzales courtesy of Wiki Commons.me

MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered Commission on Audit (COA) chairperson Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan to comment on the petition of anti-corruption advocates seeking the recovery by the COA of the billions of pesos of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allegedly illegally spent.

In a one-page notice signed by SC En Banc Clerk of Court Atty. Enriquetta E. Vidal, the respondents were given a period of 10 days from notice to comment on the petition for mandamus filed by the group of former Manila Councilor Greco Belgica.

Aside from Tan, the other respondent in the case is Director Susana Garcia of the COA Special Audits Office.

The petitioners earlier asked the SC to order the COA to issue notices of disallowance to lawmakers, government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who were allegedly responsible in the misuse of the pork barrel fund.

According to the petitioners, the COA should issue notices of disallowance reaching the amount of P6 billion.

The said amount of PDAF were spent from 2007 to 2009.

Belgica earlier wrote Tan a letter to inform her to make true her promise to issue notices of disallowance, however, this was allegedly not acted upon by the COA.

This prompted the group of Belgica to file the petition before the SC believing that the COA is continuously not properly performing its duties and functions which is considered as non-compliance of its mandate under the 1987 Constitution.