The Commission on Audit, otherwise known as the COA, is the Philippine Government's Supreme Audit Institution. Its powers and duties emanate from the 1987 Constitution, thus it is constitutionally mandated to audit and settle public transactions independently relative to all government operations, prescribe government accounting and auditing rules and regulations, and recommend measures towards effective governance.
With the coming of the Internet age, it developed its own website, replete with relevant information in a very transparent way. The primary information that one could get from the website is the compilation of the latest annual audit reports of all national, local and corporate agencies, which are posted promptly, together with the necessary archives of previous years’ audit reports. The information gathered from the COA website is a very handy tool for stakeholders, journalists, investigators and the public citizenry who want to be informed of the latest financial positions, audit findings and audit recommendations pertaining to the various government agencies being audited every year. It also has a section dedicated to fraud alerts, where anybody could report complaints of fraud or fund mismanagement by accomplishing a fraud alert form, and it could be done anonymously. The website also provides the public with an updated directory of its officials, complete with names, positions and contact details, such as telephone trunk lines and local numbers and email addresses. Furthermore, COA circulars, memoranda and other issuances are being updated and published in a timely manner.
Other government websites would pale in comparison as far as the site’s richness and transparency of information are concerned. Researchers in the field would find the website very effective and useful. It is indeed a one-stop shop of knowledge about what goes on around the Philippine bureaucracy. That is, as long as these are being adequately disclosed.
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