Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan was the guest of honor and speaker at the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) Annual Membership Assembly and Convention held on January 25, 2014 at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

In her speech, Chairperson Pulido Tan highlighted the responsibilities that come with being partners for peace, security, and good governance: “We become partners for peace by being peace lovers and peace makers… We become partners for security by being secure with ourselves and by being willing to accept our limitations and use our strengths responsibly. We become partners of good governance by respecting authority and practicing good citizenship.”

Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan has been appointed to the United Nations (UN) Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC). She is the first Filipino to serve in the IAAC since its creation in 2007.

Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations Janne Taalas, Chair of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly (GA) of the UN, announced the appointment during the Committee’s 24th Session on December 18, 2013. Chairperson Pulido Tan replaces Mr. Vinod Rai of India as the Asia-Pacific representative of the committee and will serve a three-year term of office beginning January 1, 2014.

President Benigno S. Aquino III and nine others, including Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan, were recognized outstanding exemplars who have made significant marks in society by noted media group Bulong Pulungan during its annual Christmas party held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza on December 3, 2013.

The Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel organizers noted COA Chairperson Pulido Tan for her “courage, integrity and sheer grit in pursuing the path to justice, despite the many obstacles and personalities standing in the way” and for “daring to break gender stereotypes with a firm, uncompromising stance and steely determination to pursue wrong doers.”