Press conference September 17, 2018 – Spokesperson Harry Roque on a press conference this Monday replies on an issue regarding President Duterte’s joke on what he said to the auditors of Commission On Audit (COA).
Pia Ranada of Rappler questioned Harry Roque: "Duterte joke last Sunday – Sino’ng taga COA dito? Ihulog mo na sa hagdan para hindi mag report. Why is the President threatening COA auditors who appear to just doing their jobs?"
English Translation – “who’s from COA here? Drop them off on the ladder so that they can’t report. Why is the President threatening COA auditors who appear to just doing their jobs?”
Spokesperson Harry Roque responds – “ang konteksto po nyan ay madaming limitasyon pag dating sa delivery ng humanitarian assistance in times of crisis. So, ang sinasabi ng Presidente considering post audit naman ang COA. Hayaan na munang ibigay ang pangangailangan ng taong bayan saka na muna addressin yang mga sinasabing napakadaming requirements ng COA. Noong sinabi po yan ni Presidente, isa sa konteksto nyan eh yung… ako actually nagsabi nyan; I said that yung mga nawalan ng bahay pwede silang mag avail ng calamity loan sa PAGIBIG at GSIS. Sa PAGIBIG, they can avail from five thousand (5,000) to forty-five (45,000) up to eighty percent (80%) of their contribution sa PAGIBIG at ang GSIS is between twenty (20) to fifty (50). Pero ang sabi ni Governor Imee (Marcos), sinabihan din sila ng COA na andami na raw nag avail mula noong nakalipas na bagyo. So ang sabi nya let’s put that on hold muna basta ang importante matulongan muna ang taong bayan. And he will take up the matter with COA authority kasi post audit naman sila pero ang importante ngayon, wlaa dapat bureaucratic red tape sa pag release ng tulong ng bayan. At sabi ni Presidente, kung merong nilalabag na COA circular dyan so be it. The box stops with him but he will and he is enjoining and calling on all government offices. Give the people what they need in times of calamities. Siya na ang mananagot sa COA kung merong pananagutan.”
English Translation on Harry Roques response – “The context of it are there is so many limitations when it comes to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in times of crisis. So, President Duterte said that COA is considering post audit. Let us give the needs of the people first before addressing the said requirements of COA. I (Roque) am also the one who said; to those who lose their houses, they can avail a Calamity Loan in PAGIBIG and GSIS. They can avail from five thousand to forty-five thousand up to eighty percent of their contribution in PAGIBIG, and between twenty to fifty percent from GSIS. But Governor Imee Marcos said – take up the matter with COA because they do post audits, the most important thing now is there should be no bureaucratic red tape in releasing or in giving help to the people. The President also added – if there is a violation in circular of COA, so be it. The box stops with him but he will and he is enjoining and calling on all government offices. Give the people what they need in times of calamities. He will be the one liable to COA.”
As a conclusion about this press conference, the reporters or the media should have focused more on what is happening in the country and not on the intrigues regarding the President’s statements.
