Camille Naredo

Former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo answers questions during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo answers questions during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Castelo was officially introduced as the new spokesperson of Vice President Sara Duterte, replacing Reynold Munsayac. The appointment comes amid ongoing public interest in the Vice President’s key programs and policy directions. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

OVP SPOKESPERSON

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175207305136020250709-ovp-spox-ruth-castelo-MT10.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo answers questions during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo answers questions during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE) </strong>— The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Office of the Vice President (OVP) 60 days to “to submit the corrections or whatever remedial actions” for its 2024 annual audit report, the OVP’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/9/sara-duterte-office-taps-ex-dti-official-ruth-castelo-as-new-spokesperson-1050">‘Not an attack dog’: Sara Duterte office taps ex-DTI official Ruth Castelo as new spokesperson</a></div><p>OVP spokesperson Ruth Castelo did not enumerate which items the COA flagged for correction, but noted that “some observations made by the Commission on Audit similar to what was done in 2023.”</p><p>“In the 2024 annual audit report, there were still some observations that the office is given 60 days to submit the corrections or whatever remedial actions were taken by the Office of the Vice President,” she said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/16/ovp-seeks-to-retain-p733-m-budget-in-2026-sara-duterte-1433">READ: OVP seeks to retain P733-million budget in 2026: Sara Duterte</a></div><p>“The manual of operations for these programs like the ‘Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day’ are always revisited and then improved for the following year, and that&#x27;s what we&#x27;re doing now,” she said, referring to the OVP’s livelihood assistance program.</p><p>In 2023, the COA flagged the OVP’s “Mag Negosyo Ta ‘Day” program after it spent only P600,000 of the P150 million allocated for the project.</p><p>State auditors had also noted that the OVP’s “PagbaBAGo Campaign” had “incomplete guidelines and procedures” in identifying beneficiaries, managing inventory and distributing school bags among school children.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/9/dbm-hikes-ovp-s-proposed-2026-budget-to-p903m-spox-1332">READ: DBM hikes OVP’s proposed 2026 budget to P903M: spox</a></div><p>“But notwithstanding these observations, the final opinion of the Commission on Audit remains to be the unmodified opinion because these observations are, maybe not, I don&#x27;t know if minor is the correct word,” Castelo said.</p><p>“It means that the observations can still be corrected and do not actually affect the entire presentation of the financial statements,” she said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘UNMODIFIED OPINION’</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In a letter dated June 19, 2025, the COA issued an unmodified opinion for the OVP, noting that it found that the “accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of OVP as of December 31, 2024.”</p><p>An unmodified opinion is issued when an auditor “concludes that the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework,” the COA said in its website.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/3/lawmaker-says-coa-opinion-should-not-distract-house-probe-into-ovp-1625">Lawmaker says COA opinion should not distract House probe into OVP</a></div><p>“These opinions accompany by the Commission on Audit 2024 annual audit report for the Office of the Vice President is a confirmation of the Office of the Vice President’s firm commitment to comply with all laws, existing rules and regulations including audit guidelines so that we can be transparent, of course this is for transparency and compliance upholding to the rule of law,” Castelo said.</p><p>“So, pagka naka-receive po ang isang ahensiya ng unmodified audit opinion, maligaya na po silang lahat,” she said.</p><p>Duterte, who is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, expressed gratitude for COA&#x27;s unmodified opinion to her office.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/10/vp-sara-camp-taps-intel-experts-to-explain-confidential-funds-issue-if-trial-proceeds-0835">VP Sara camp taps intel experts to explain confidential funds issue if trial proceeds</a></div><p>&quot;Well, it shows the transparency and accountability and the compliance of the OVP with all the regulations required by them, so we are thankful for the hard work—I am thankful for the hard work of the OVP,&quot; she said.</p><p>In 2022, the COA underscored that an “an audit opinion should not be viewed as a rating, score or grade, with ranking of lowest to highest” as it only pertains to an agency’s compliance with submitting the proper requirements for a financial audit.</p><p>“It is important to note that the financial statements represent only a facet of an agency,” the COA said.</p><p>“An audit opinion does not provide any conclusions on the agency’s level of compliance with laws, rules and regulations, nor the application of the principles of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the agency’s operations,” it said.</p><p>A government office’s compliance with laws and spending regulations will be reviewed via “compliance and performance audits… which are conducted by the COA in addition to financial audit.”</p><p>So far, the results of the compliance and performance audits for the OVP have yet to be uploaded on the COA’s website.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/23/-amuy-de-asim-join-growing-list-of-dubious-confidential-fund-recipients-lawmaker-1509">‘Amuy’, ‘De Asim’ join ‘growing’ list of dubious confidential fund recipients — lawmaker</a></div><p>The OVP’s 2024 budget has been the subject of controversy after the House of Representatives scrutinized why Duterte spent P16 million in 11 for the rental of several safe houses and noted supposed questionable names in its list of beneficiaries.</p><p>Duterte has decried the congressional investigations into the OVP’s budget as part of an alleged political persecution campaign supposedly designed to hinder her from emerging as a candidate in the 2028 presidential elections.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zS-lB-VZEGw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Office of the Vice President (OVP) 60 days to “to submit the corrections or whatever remedial actions” for its 2024 annual audit report, the OVP’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.</p>

The Commission on Audit (COA) has given the Office of the Vice President (OVP) 60 days to “to submit the corrections or whatever remedial actions” for its 2024 annual audit report, the OVP’s spokesperson said on Wednesday.

COA issues unmodified opinion to OVP, gives 60 days to ‘submit corrections’ in 2024 audit

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COA issues unmodified opinion to OVP, gives 60 days to ‘submit corrections’ in 2024 audit

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 09, 2025 11:14 PM PHT

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Updated July 31, 2025 06:26 PM PHT

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