INDEPENDENT senatorial candidate and former state auditor Heidi Mendoza yesterday said the Joint Circular 2015-01 on Confidential Fund issued by the Commission on Audit and four departments of the national government 10 years ago now needs a major rework to make it abreast with the times.
In a post on her official Twitter account (now X), Mendoza said for greater transparency and uniform applicability, there are several parts of the rules that would have to be updated, particularly in light of apparent abuses in their allocation and use as revealed in the ongoing investigations in Congress.
The joint circular was signed on January 8, 2015 by then COA chairperson Maria Gracia Pulido Tan, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas, Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) chairperson Cesar Villanueva, and Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
“All agencies that receive confidential fund – from the biggest to the smallest amounts – should be investigated by using the sampling method. This process should be applied evenly regardless of the official or party involved,” she said.
The sampling method is an audit tool applied to less than 100 percent of the identified account balance or class of transactions.
As one of three COA Commissioners at the time, Mendoza said she worked to draft, refine, and push for the approval of the joint circular.
She stressed the need for the rules to be uniformly enforced to serve as an effective deterrent against corruption.
“Corruption happens regardless of political colors. We should aim for a stringent, fair, and judicious policy to safeguard how taxpayers’ money is used,” she added.
Asked to specify what parts of the joint circular need revamping, she said those parts that cover “selection and allocation, as well as accounting, recording and audit.”
She had previously stated that only civilian agencies with internal security or law enforcement functions should be allocated confidential budgets, citing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Witness Protection Program and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and tax investigation unit as examples.
“I want to add that until now, the joint circular has not been updated regarding the disbursement of confidential funds. This (joint circular) was issued in 2015. I worked hard alongside other commissioners at the time to get it approved. I am aware that some parts need a review to make them applicable to the present conditions. What we are trying to prevent is a repeat of excessive and improper use of these funds,” Mendoza said.
