OVP Denies Fund Loss Amid COA Documentation Deficiencies

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has maintained that no funds were lost, attributing discrepancies flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding P168 million in its 2025 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund to "changes in circumstances." In its report on the 2025 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, COA said that there were inconsistencies between the Office’s situational reports, deviations from approved mission orders, and deficiencies in records. “The discrepancies arose from changes in circumstances and field conditions that became apparent as the operations were carried out. No funds were lost, and all funds are accounted for,” the OVP said. “The relief operations were actually carried out, and the beneficiaries were recorded and validated based on the available supporting documents and field records submitted to the COA Audit Team,” they added. The OVP said that the matter raised by COA was regarding deficiencies in “pre-operation documentary requirements” that the Office itself required for internal procedures. They did not fail to comply with any requirements mandated by the law or the COA. “The OVP continues to strengthen its processes for documentation, validation, and monitoring to ensure that the records of every operation are complete and in order, especially during emergency responses and calamities,” the Office added. COA flagged several types of deficiencies in the OVP. For example, COA found that there was a difference between the situational reports prepared by the OVP when compared with those of other concerned agencies and local government units. The Commission also flagged 24 relief operations involving ng P39.01 million worth of welfare goods that deviated from approved mission orders. This was done without documented approval. State auditors also found that there were eight mission orders without specific target beneficiaries—in total, they covered P84.12 million. The lack of clear beneficiaries made it difficult to determine the quantity of relief goods requested and distributed, according to the COA. —LDF, GMA News