The existence of the Commission on Audit (COA) Annual Audit Report for Calendar Year 2025, which was submitted to the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod, contradicts claims that SP members are afraid of an audit of the city’s loan-funded projects, Councilor Caesar Distrito said Wednesday, Nov. 4.
In its Second Partial Joint Committee Report which was adopted by the SP, the Committees on Appropriations and Finance, Government Assets, and Laws, Ordinances and Good Government emphasized that COA has already examined the city’s loan accounts, including the DBP-funded Legislative Building Project, Distrito said in a press release.
The 2025 COA Report specifically examined 17 loan accounts, of which 16 were reconciled with bank confirmations. The Legislative Building loan account showed zero discrepancy, he said.
“How can critics claim that we are afraid of an audit when COA has already conducted one? The 2025 COA Report is a clear documentary proof that the city’s loan accounts are being examined”, Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chairman of the SP Committee on Appropriation and Finance, said.
Another annual audit is expected in January 2027, covering 2026 transactions. COA has the authority to examine all city disbursements, including those involving loan-funded projects, he added.
“The call for a special or fraud audit was principally anchored on the reported delay in the Legislative Building Project, without presenting other concrete evidence of fraud,” Councilor Al Espino, chairperson of the SP Committee on Laws and Good Government, said.
“We cannot just call for a fraud audit without any proof of anomaly. It becomes a fishing expedition, or the least of it, it is still premature because the project is still on-going.” Espino said.
“Delay alone is not fraud. It is primarily a contractual issue. If the delay is unjustified, the City Government can impose the appropriate penalties and liquidated damages under the contract. The second phase had not even been bidded out, and then you already made such conclusion?” Distrito, chairperson of the Committee on Govt Assets, added.
The three committees reiterated that COA continuously exercises its constitutional mandate to audit government transactions and independently determines whether additional or special examinations are warranted.
“We are not against an audit. In fact, we are presenting the actual COA Report to the public. This directly contradicts the narrative that we are hiding something or afraid of scrutiny. Transparency must be based on documents and facts, not mere accusations,” Distrito said.*
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