A Facebook (FB) post is falsely claiming the Commission on Audit (COA) found no irregularities in the utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget, citing the “unmodified opinion” given by the commission to the OVP in 2023.
Published on March 31, the inaccurate post bore a screenshot of COA’s 2023 audit opinion for the office, with a caption that reads:
“Andaming impeachable offense na na uncover mga kalaban ni Sara sa Congress, because they desperately needs to get rid of her, kasi nga she’s the biggest stumbling block for them and their agenda, BUT COA DID NOT FIND ANYTHING IRREGULAR! UNMODIFIED OPINION PA NGA!
(So many impeachable offenses were uncovered by Sara’s opponents in Congress because they desperately need to get rid of her, since she’s their biggest stumbling block to their agenda, BUT COA DID NOT FIND ANYTHING IRREGULAR! THEY EVEN ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION!)”
The commission explained that an unmodified or “unqualified” opinion is only issued “when the auditor concludes that financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.”
“As such, an unmodified/unqualified opinion does not necessarily mean that there were no misstatements found during the audit nor there were no uncorrected misstatements as at year-end,” COA said.
The commission added this opinion does not guarantee the audited agency’s full compliance with laws and regulations, or the efficient and effective use of funds in the agency’s programs and projects.
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.