FACT CHECK: ‘Highest COA rating’ claim for OVP under Sara Duterte is misleading

Claim: The Office of the Vice President under Sara Duterte has reportedly earned the top Commission on Audit (COA) rating for three years in a row.

Rating: MISLEADING

Why we fact-checked this: Posts claiming that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte has received the “highest [Commission on Audit] rating for three consecutive years” are circulating widely on social media.

These posts are framed in a way that suggest official recognition from COA for exceptional governance and financial management, which potentially influences public perception of the OVP’s performance. Some comments are already praising the OVP’s supposed streak of “top ratings.” One post in particular by News Ngayon, a Facebook fan page from Davao City, has garnered more than 41,000 reactions; 3,800 comments; and 4,400 shares.

Several of the viral posts also used headlines and captions such as “VP Sara, tatlong taon nang top audit performer” (VP Sara, top audit performer for three years) or “VP Sara Duterte, tatlong taon nang kumikilala ng top COA audit rating” (VP Sara Duterte, recognized with top COA audit rating for three years).

The captions describe the achievement as proof of Duterte’s integrity and good governance. The volume of shares and the authoritative framing of the posts create a high potential for misinformation.

The facts: Based on COA’s audit opinion guide, a “top audit rating” is not an official COA category, and creates a false impression of special recognition. They do not classify agencies on a scale, or rank them from highest to lowest. They only issue financial audit opinions between modified and unmodified opinions.

An unmodified or unqualified opinion means the financial statements are fairly presented as of audit date. It does not mean that every government program, every fund usage, every compliance matter or overall performance is fully verified or faultless.

Therefore, even if the OVP received unmodified opinions for CY 2022, 2023, and 2024, such a streak does not automatically equate to a guarantee of overall best practices across all aspects of governance. For context, COA also rendered clean audit opinions for consecutive years from previous terms of the OVP.

The Annual Audit Reports (AAR) for national government agencies is publicly available and can be viewed on COA’s official website.

Because many social media posts use “ top rating” and “top performer” when referring to COA’s financial audit opinion, COA warns about the risk of overstating or distorting what their audit actually means.

After receiving an unmodified audit, the OVP released a statement on Thursday, December 4, reporting that its management officials met with COA auditors during an exit conference on May 15, 2025 to discuss the significant audit observations and recommendations. They emphasized that the audit did not identify any loss or misuse of government funds or property during calendar year 2024. They also noted that, “all issues raised were primarily administrative in nature.”

COA opinions: COA issues different types of audits including financial, compliance, and performance audits. The audit opinion is part of the financial audit only.

The modified opinion includes qualified opinion or material misstatements of the financial statements, adverse opinion or pervasive material misstatements, and disclaimer of opinion or audit that cannot be completed due to insufficient evidence.

On the other hand, the unmodified opinion, also called unqualified or “clean” opinion, means that financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects. However, a clean opinion does not directly mean the agency has flawless operations.

In their clarification statement, COA wrote: “It is important to note that the financial statements represent only a facet of an agency and that 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.”

COA explained that matters related to efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance are addressed in COA’s compliance and performance audits, which are separate from the financial audit. – Princess Leah Sagaad/Rappler.com

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