Citizen Participatory Audit: An Approach for

Accountability in the Philippines

International Conference on the Communities of Practice on
Managing for Development Results Instruments for Effective Development
November 1-3, 2015
Seoul, Korea

Rosa Dela Cruz

Auditor, Philippine Commission on Audit

Vivien Suerte-Cortez
Manager, ANSA–EAP Foundation
An overview
CITIZEN PARTICIPATORY AUDIT
“As the state’s supreme audit institution, we have a duty to the public... We also recognize that citizens
are a key stakeholder in what the government does, and in what COA does.”

Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan, Former COA Chairperson

What is
Citizen Participatory Audit?

A priority program of the Commission on Audit that

upholds the people’s primordial right to a clean
government and the prudent utilization of public
resources, founded on the premise that public
accountability can prosper only with a vigilant and
involved citizenry, for the promotion of transparency
and effectiveness.

– COA Operational Guidelines

What is
Citizen Participatory Audit?

• A mechanism for strategic partnership and sharing

of aspirations, goals and objectives between the
COA and civil society.
• An audit technique that brings together CSOs,
citizens, and COA auditors as one audit team
• A technique for citizen involvement in various
areas of COA’s work as partners.
– COA Operational Guidelines
What is
Citizen Participatory Audit?

CPA uses the constructive engagement approach

between citizens and government in monitoring
government’s use of public resources to improve
service delivery, protect rights, and promote
community welfare.
What is
Citizen Participatory Audit?

In CPA, citizens are included in the team to make government

more effective, transparent, and accountable

Always under the direct supervision of COA.

CPA Components

• i-kwenta.com
• brings the audit process closer to the general public by making
technical information easily understandable through infographics
on the COA’s audit function
• medium for informing the public about the CPA including the
published reports on audits conducted
• website to submit complaints

• Public Information System (PIS)

• an automated system which manages information on public
feedback and the actions taken thereon by the COA
CPA Components
Citizen Participatory Audit
THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT (COA) AND
ANSA–EAP’S EXPERIENCE
Citizen Participatory Audit
Process (The Full Cycle Modality)

CITIZEN BUY-IN AND SHARED AGENDA BUILDING

Through COA’s citizen partner that linked COA to CSOs, a series
Step 1 of activities were conducted to bring the idea of the CPA to the
citizens then jointly identified areas they want audited under
CPA.

Step 2 COMPETENCY BUILDING

Trainings were conducted: COA 101, CSO 101, the CPA, audit
concepts & procedures including geotagging

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) SIGNING

Step 3 This formalized the partnership. The MOA includes the
Operational Guidelines jointly drafted by CSOs and COA.

CITIZEN PARTNER NOMINATION

Step 4 Selected representatives were nominated by the CSOs that were
signatory to the MOA, to become citizen-auditors through a
formal process.
Citizen Participatory Audit
Process (The Full Cycle Modality)

CITIZEN AUTHORIZATION AS AUDIT TEAM MEMBER

Step 5 CSO-nominees to the audit teams were formally authorized by
COA as audit team members.

AUDIT TEAM PLANNING

Step 6 The Audit Team composed of the Supervising Auditor, Audit
Team Leader and Audit Team Members (COA organic personnel),
and authorized citizens developed the Audit Program, identifying
specific duties and responsibilities of each individual. The
Directors performed oversight supervision over the audit team.

Step 7 AUDIT TEAM FIELD WORK

Working as a team, the auditors and the citizens gathered data
together.

Step 8 AUDIT TEAM DATA ANALYSIS

Data gathered were analyzed together by the audit team.
Citizen Participatory Audit
Process (The Full Cycle Modality)

AUDIT REPORTING
Step 9 The audit team, including its citizen partners participated in
audit report writing activities.

AUDIT MONITORING
Step 10 The COA Auditor, as part of his/her regular functions, follow-up
with the auditee on the status of implementation of audit
recommendations. The validation of the auditee’s response may
be participated in by citizen partners.

ADVOCACY
Step 11 Together with the CSOs, advocacy strategies will be designed to
ensure that audit recommendations will be implemented and
the expected impact attained.
Citizen Participatory Audit
CSO PARTNERS AND ROLES
Citizen Participatory Audit
CSO Partners in Pilot Audits

• Department of Public Works and Highways’ KAMANAVA Flood Control

System
• Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government
• Diaspora for Good Governance
• International Alert
• Marikina City’s Barangay Health Centers
• Ateneo School of Government
• ANSA–EAP Foundation
• Quezon City’s Solid Waste Management Program
• Kapitbisig Homeowners Association
• Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Magulang
Citizen Participatory Audit
CSO Partners in Pilot Audits

• Disaster Relief Audit on Super Typhoon Haiyan

• Leyte Family Development Organizations MPC
• International Holistic Engagement for Life and Progress
• Philippine Relief and Development Services
• Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers – Eastern Visayan State University
Chapter
• Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants – Eastern Visayan State
University Chapter
Citizen Participatory Audit
Roles of CSO Partners

• Roles of Citizen Partners

• Provided inputs in crafting the Operational Guidelines
• With COA, participated in the Capacity Building Workshop
• With COA, identified the objectives, scope and methodology
during audit planning
• With COA, gathered data during the audit execution stage
• Facilitated the Community Scorecard
• With COA, designed the survey tool
• Survey enumerators for the three largest barangays in
Quezon City
• With COA, assessed data results
• With COA, drafted the audit report
Citizen Participatory Audit
AUDIT RESULTS
Citizen Participatory Audit
KAMANAVA Flood Control Project
Citizen Participatory Audit
KAMANAVA Flood Control Project

Audit Objective:
• The audit verified / validated if the project attained its
objective of flood mitigation.

Audit Conclusion
• The flood control project did not completely mitigate the
flooding caused by high tide and heavy rains due to:
• deficiencies in the structures and design,
• existence of informal settlers and large volumes of garbage in
the project sites, and
• inadequate personnel and communication facilities.
Citizen Participatory Audit
Barangay Health Centers
Citizen Participatory Audit
Marikina City Barangay Health Centers

Audit Objectives
• To determine how well the BHCs operated in terms of the
minimum requirements of the DoH and the DSWD
• To determine how well the BHCs operated in terms of certain
expectations of their clients
Audit Results
• Facilities
• Not accessible to those who live far from the Barangay Centers
• No lying-in and birthing facilities
• Need more personnel to maintain clean facilities
• Need supply of potable water
• Insufficient waiting areas and comfort rooms
Citizen Participatory Audit
Barangay Health Centers
Audit Results
• Resources
• Overwhelming community demand for services
• BHCs are undermanned and staff are overworked
• Equipment
• Old, overused and outdated. Numbers are not
proportional to demand.
• Medicines and Supplies
• Inadequate supplies to meet demand
• Incomplete dosage of critical medicines
• Health Services and Programs
• Not maximized due to lack of Barangay Health Center
personnel
• Need to automate the patients’ records
Citizen Participatory Audit
Solid Waste Management
Citizen Participatory Audit
CCT Beneficiaries in Barangay Health Centers

Audit Objectives
• The audit focused on how Quezon City implements its
Solid Waste Management program.

Audit Results
• Quezon City has a Solid Waste Management Board but it
had very limited operations/is not in accordance with The
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
• Quezon City has a Ten-Year Ecological Solid Waste
Management Program, however, there were instances of
non-compliance in the review and updating of the Plan.
Citizen Participatory Audit
Solid Waste Management

• Audit Results
• All of the respondents were satisfied, at varying
degrees, with the cleanliness of their communities.
• “Not understanding the purpose and process of waste
segregation” was identified as the reason why 25% of
the respondents did not practice segregation of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.
• Therefore, more targeted IEC campaigns to address this
25% of the population are still needed to enjoin them as
active partners of the City in achieving its
environmental goals.
Citizen Participatory Audit
MAKING IT A GLOBAL PRACTICE
Citizen Participatory Audit
Making it a Global Practice

What the Commission on Audit has done

• Responded to the call for Open Government Partnership
• Through the Citizen Participatory Audit initiative and reform
strategy
• Knowledge sharing on the CPA
• Presentations on the CPA in various international gatherings
• Joined on-line dialogues on citizen participation in government
processes
Citizen Participatory Audit
Making it a Global Practice

What the Commission on Audit has done

• Harnessing technology in CPA

• Trainings on geotagging assisted by the DFAT-AusAID and the
World Bank; and application in CPA
• Initiated multi-stakeholder policy formulation of geotagging
operations and development of a geotagging information
management system (GeoStore)
Citizen Participatory Audit
Making it a Global Practice

What the Commission on Audit will do

• Knowledge sharing / exchange with INTOSAI on the

development of ISSAI on citizen participation in audit
• Knowledge sharing / exchange with other SAIs
 Maraming salamat po.
(Thank you very much.)

Public Audit Participatory

Transparent

Accountable