THE Commission on Audit (CoA) has refused to categorically say if it will accept or reject the request of President Rodrigo Duterte for it to audit the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), saying only that it is not “remiss in its duty” to audit government funds released to nongovernment organizations and people’s organizations.

On Thursday, Duterte ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida to coordinate with the CoA to start scrutinizing the PRC’s utilization of fund donations from state agencies.

Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said PRC needs to be audited because it failed to submit financial reports

of its transactions with government as mandated by Republic Act 10072, “the Philippine Red Cross Act of 2009.”

In a statement Friday, the CoA said it “is not remiss in its duty to audit government funds released to NGOs/POs.”

“In fact, CoA Circular 2007-001 provides for the guidelines in the granting, utilization, accounting and auditing (Section 7) of funds released to NGOs/POs,” it said.

Under CoA Circular 2007-001 Section 7, “the Supervising Auditor/Audit Team Leader (SA/ATL) of the GO which released the fund to the NGO/PO, or a team authorized under an approved office order shall undertake the audit of the funds granted.”

The circular also states that “the results of the audit [whether financial, VFM, or compliance audit] shall be included in the appropriate report [Annual Audit Report, VFM], if warranted.”

Nowhere in the statement did CoA say that it will do the PRC audit.

Duterte is insisting on an audit of the Red Cross following his verbal tussle with Sen. Richard Gordon, who concurrently chairs the PRC.

The President has said that because the PRC receives money from both the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., it is subject to a government audit.

Gordon has said that PRC cannot be audited.

The President also accused Gordon of using Red Cross money to fund his election campaigns.

Gordon pushed back, saying Duterte was “covering his tracks [and] trying to protect his people” with his tirades.

In an earlier statement, the PRC maintained that it has “faithfully accounted” for the donations from government agencies “in compliance with the donor agencies’ liquidation and reportorial requirements.”

“These government agencies, in turn, are subject to annual audit by the Commission on Audit. To date, there has not been any adverse finding on any transaction whereby government funds were given to the Philippine Red Cross,” it said.

PRC has received payments from the government for Covid-19 tests. In October last year, it suspended its tests for the government because of the long payment delays by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

The Red Cross audit issue was an offshoot of the Senate blue ribbon committee’s inquiry into the alleged overpricing of medical supplies and equipment meant for the government’s Covid-19 response efforts.

Gordon is the chairman of the blue ribbon panel.

The spat between Duterte and Gordon has reached a point where the President has banned Cabinet officials from attending the inquiry.

On Friday, Salvador Panelo, the President’s chief legal counsel, said Duterte’s directive should not be construed as a form of disrespect or intimidation by the Executive department against lawmakers.

Panelo issued the statement amid criticisms that the ban was the President’s way of intimidating senators into dropping the investigation on the procurement of medical supplies.

“Hindi daw sila natatakot sa pagbabanta ng Presidente. Teka muna, wala namang banta si Presidente. Bakit ba kayo overreacting (They said they’re not afraid of threats from the President. But the President has not made any. Why are you overreacting)?” Panelo said during his online program.

Responding to Duterte’s tirades, Gordon on Friday said the Senate should be allowed to continue with its probe since it has already uncovered “fraud, waste and abuse.”

On its seventh day of blue ribbon hearings into what Gordon describes as the “premeditated plunder” committed by the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (PSDBM) office which awarded P42 billion in medical supply contracts mostly to foreign firms, including Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp., the senator revealed that Pharmally officials drive expensive European sports cars.

Gordon said Twinkle Dargani, Pharmally president, has a Lamborghini URUS worth P13 million.

Mohit Dargani, the firm’s corporate secretary-treasurer, has a Porsche 911 valued at P8.5 million.

Linconn Ong, a Pharmally director, has a Porsche Carrera 4S (P13.5 million), Porsche Cayenne (P6.3 million to P8.85 million) and Porsche 911 Turbo S (P6.35 million to P8.85 million), Gordon said.

In a previous hearing, Gordon asked resigned PS-DBM chief Lloyd Christopher Lao whether he drives a Maserati. Lao replied: “Grandia.”

Members of the panel want to find out who ordered the Department of Health (DoH) to transfer P42 billion in Covid-19 response funds to PS-DBM.

Michael Yang, former economic adviser to President Duterte, is the reported financier of cash-strapped Pharmally.

Also at Friday’s hearing, CoA Commissioner Michael Aguinaldo clarified that in the commission’s initial report on the DoH there was no government money lost to corruption.

The report had found “deficiencies” in the DoH’s handling of its P68-billion Covid response funds.

If CoA finds “indications of fraud,” it will refer its findings to the Office of the Ombudsman, Aguinaldo said.