COA flags P168-M deficiency in OVP relief operations

MANILA — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) supposed deficiencies in relief operation implementation in 2025, amounting to at least P167.97 million.

In its report, the COA said control and documentation deficiencies in the OVP include: 

– Inconsistencies between situational reports (SitReps) from the agencies/local government units (LGUs) concerned and the OVP 

– Deviations from approved mission orders during actual operations 

– Issuance of open-ended mission orders

– Deficiencies in beneficiary documentation and distribution records

– Incomplete, missing, or non-submission of required documents.

For the inconsistencies between agencies/LGUs and the OVP, the COA said the issue involved P19.67 million of welfare goods, adding that the gap was seen in the reported number of affected families while some agency/LGU SitReps did not show beneficiary counts. 

“Although [the OVP] management attributed these to evolving disaster conditions and subsequent validation, supporting documents for the revisions were not consistently attached. Consequently, the reliability of the SitReps used as basis for planning relief operations and issuing Mission Orders was diminished,” it said.

Meanwhile, 24 relief operations involving P39 million worth of welfare goods were deviated from the approved mission orders without a documented approval. Among the deviations are changes in schedules, distribution locations, and quantities of relief items. 

“While management cited operational adjustments due to changing field conditions, the absence of documented approvals weakened assurance that the changes were properly authorized and supported,” the COA stated.

Eight mission orders, which covered P84.1-million relief assistance, “did not specify the target beneficiaries and merely directed the distribution of relief goods to affected or displaced families.” 

While the OVP management argued that it has allowed operational flexibility, the absence of target recipients “weakened the basis for determining the quantities of relief goods requested and distributed.” 

The COA likewise spotted discrepancies in beneficiary documentation and distribution records such as uncertified master lists, duplicate entries, and incomplete beneficiary information in 11 relief operations involving about 200 recipients.

“The use of different documentary requirements resulted in inconsistent application of established procedures and reduced assurance on the completeness, accuracy, and verifiability of beneficiary records and the propriety of relief distributions,” the commission said. 

Further, relief operations involving almost 34,000 beneficiaries and P25.2-million welfare goods were not backed by complete documents including SitReps, mission orders, and verified master lists which, the COA said, “weakened assurance over beneficiary selection, quantities distributed, and compliance with established documentary requirements.”

COA recommended the OVP management to improve its review procedures on relief operations to ensure “completeness, consistency, and accuracy of operational and liquidation documents.” 

The commission also suggested the OVP management to require concerned satellite offices and disaster operation center personnel to make sure that adjustments in data, lists, and records are properly documented.

It also advised the management to require satellite office personnel to guarantee that relief operations with over 200 beneficiaries are implemented in compliance with the Policy Manual on Disaster Operations Program. 

COA further proposed to the OVP management to instruct the Disaster Operations Center chief to “define operational scope and coverage” in the next mission orders to support the information in the OVP SitRep.

Meanwhile, the House prosecution pointed to what it described as a “pattern of behavior” in the Vice President’s use of public funds.

“Above the legal and technical adverse findings ng COA, this also speaks about pattern of behavior,” House prosecution spokesperson and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto said in a press conference on Wednesday. 

“I think the pattern is being established when there’s a sense of impunity that I guess a glaring display of the mindset na that sense of untouchability na nobody can actually call them out, that they are above the law,” he further added.

House prosecution adviser Ace Barbers said the OVP appears to be a frequent subject of adverse findings from COA. 

“Parang suki ng COA adverse findings, so they have really to explain,” he said.

Adiong also pointed out that while the latest COA findings involve a separate matter, they bear similarities to the confidential funds of the OVP that are the subject of the impeachment trial, particularly the lack of documentation.

“Though this is a separate case altogether, pero may similarity… Similarly doon sa confidential funds, ito din yung hinihingi na document evidencing payment,” he explained. 

“Baka magulat ka, talagang tumanggap ng ayuda diyan ay si Mary Grace Piattos ulit,” Barbers said, referring to the names that appeared in the acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP to COA with regard to the use of confidential funds.