COA told to distance itself from Palace

A lawmaker on Sunday advised the Commission on Audit (COA) to insulate itself from the influence of Malacañang following COA Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan’s admission last week that the commission received funds from the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna said that instead of “undermining” the power of the Congress to scrutinize the budget by automatically appropriating funds for constitutional commissions, the COA should distance itself from the Palace.