COA chair resigns from post

Screenshot from GMA News.

MANILA — Commission on Audit’s first woman char, Grace Pulido-Tan on Monday said goodbye to his colleagues.

Tan has been known for leading the special audit of the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) of lawmakers.

The controversial audit reports lead to the filing of charges against officials and the detention of three senators.

Tan considers her move to remove the “misfits” in the agency as among her greatest accomplishments in her four years of service.

Tan, who replaced Reynaldo Villar after the former resigned in 2011 following the controversy over his appointment, is a lawyer and a certified public accountant.

In her farewell speech, she told the employees of the commission:

“You are the real Commission on Audit, you who have made COA your life career and calling, and have sworn to serve with utmost dedication and faithfulness.”

“Let it therefore be also your pride and fulfillment. As such, make it so. Its future is in your hands and minds and hearts. Chairpersons and even commissioners will come and go… But the mandate and independence of the commission are etched in the Constitution and will remain so until our people say otherwise,” she said.

She added that the teamwork she had with all the officials in the commission made her goal of making COA “a truly independent” organization, possible.

“We asked our own ranks to account for their lapses and outright misconduct, and did not hesitate to impose corresponding disciplinary action,” Tan said.

“We ended the culture of political patronage, fellowship and debt of gratitude for self-aggrandizement. I told you to believe in your own qualities and qualifications, not in the endorsements of politicians… With these, we were also able to discover gems of public servants among you, long denied their rightful recognition,” she said.