Agusan Del Norte 1st District Lawrence Fortun urged the Commission on Audit (COA) and other accounting and auditing firms to recommend to the Congress of amending PD 1445 or the State Audit Code. 

“We in Congress rely much on the Commission on Audit (COA) annual audits of government agencies to evaluate the performance of those agencies and be alerted on probable anomalies on the use of public funds.” He said. 

It has been highlighted after the controversy with the COA findings from the approved budget of the Department of Health (DOH). 

Fortun added that Congress should prioritize giving the COA the power and means to keep on serving the Filipinos with the best of its interest. 

The State Audit of the Philippines was over 40 years old, wherein the COA draws its operating powers and should be amended because it’s already overdue to update or to upgrade.