MWSS RO GFPS Chair Claudine B. Orocio-Isorena and MWSS RO Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty (center) with other agencies’ officials invited to the MWSS RO GAD Kapihan 2023

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office Gender and Development Focal Point System (MWSS RO GFPS) recently awarded the Commission on Audit (COA) with a plaque of recognition as one of its steadfast partners in gender mainstreaming during the GAD Kapihan 2023 hosted by the MWSS RO at Joemag's Cafe in UP Diliman, Quezon City.

The event’s theme centered on recognizing and strengthening partnerships through renewed commitment towards achievement of gender mainstreaming within the water sector.

MWSS RO GFPS took the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the valuable contributions of its partners in promoting gender equality and celebrated their collaborative efforts. The event likewise served as a platform to strengthen existing partnerships and build new connections.

In an effort to keep up with the changing times, the Commission on Audit (COA) had long been clamoring for lawmakers to update the 45-year old Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 or the “Government Auditing Code of the Philippines.” This initiative has taken a big step forward as the House of Representatives, voting 258-0-0, approved House Bill No. 9674 or the “Revised Government Auditing Act” on the Third and Final Reading on 12 December 2023. It is one of the priority measures of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

In his sponsorship speech, Committee on Revision of Laws Chair Edward Vera Perez Maceda noted the outdated processes of accounting and auditing and emphasized the need to update the government auditing code due to the changing times, emerging technologies and digitization.

Representative Edward Vera Perez Maceda (6th from left), 4th District of Manila, Chair of the Committee on Revision of Laws; Representative Mark O. Go (7th from left), Lone District of Baguio City and Member of the Committee on Appropriations; and Atty. Jean Celzo-Dapula, Secretary of the Committee on Revision of Laws join COA officials (left to right) Atty. Ana Lee T. Sianoya, Director Daryl H. Tonolete, Atty. Al Baljon, Assistant Commissioners Alexander B. Juliano, Winnie Rose H. Encallado, Fortunata M. Rubico and Nilda B. Plaras, Atty. Erwin E. Lapitan, and HOR Auditor Isaiash Reynoso at the House of Representatives Plenary Session Hall after the 2nd reading of the Revised Government Auditing Act on 6 December 2023.

Commission on Audit (COA) officials led by Commissioner Mario G. Lipana attended the 63rd Regular Session of the United Nations’ Panel of External Auditors held from 20 to 21 November 2023 in the UN Headquarters, New York. The 63rd Regular Session was chaired by Dr. Isma Yatun, Chair of the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia.

The United Nations’ Panel of External Auditors provides a unique platform to discuss important and timely issues, exchange of information, methodologies, and process to deliver high quality and value-adding external audit services and ensure transparent and accurate decisions made by the United Nations, its Specialized Agencies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The 63rd Regular Session was attended by the Panel members coming from 12 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), namely: Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Philippines, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The Panel discussed several crucial topics and approved the revised Rules of Procedures amendment. The Panel also met with His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, highlighting crucial topics such as management of critical risks, the challenging financial environment, harmonization in implementing new accounting standards across the UN, addressing climate change, and importance of digital transformation.