Auditors: from ‘frontline praetorians’ to ‘rear guards’

Conceived as the frontline praetorians of government coffers, auditors were considered our first line of defense against corruption. In earlier times, they were regarded with awe, sometimes even feared and hated, but they stood proud in the performance of their duties.

Today, auditors have retreated from the frontlines to become mere rear guards, marching to the fore only after the deed is done. For some reason, they have been reduced to being unobtrusive fixtures in government offices, although their signatures are indispensable in practically all financial transactions.

In the early 1930s and even during the post-war era when the General Auditing Office was not yet an independent body, auditing rules were strictly adhered to. Even in distant provinces like Palawan, where my late father served as a young field auditor, auditing was considered a sacred duty because the moral standing of both the auditor and the audited, as well as the financial welfare of the state, was at stake.

Far-flung municipalities were not spared. Armed with only an abacus as tool, my father used to make a yearly round of the island municipalities under primitive and dangerous circumstances to be able to examine the treasurers’ books. Not satisfied with written reports, he manually counted the contents of the cashiers’ safes, irritating those found wanting in performance.

Auditors today encounter bigger threats and overwhelming workloads particularly in truth-seeking assignments. But they now work with better tools in more comfortable environments. Aided by modern technological devices like computers and wonder gadgets that make handling figures less tedious, they can do their work more efficiently and accurately. No more abacus, manual adding machines and rickety typewriters.

It is therefore shocking to the taxpaying public that mind-boggling scams like a “pork barrel looting” network could operate in the scale that threatens to engulf the entire ship of state. Had the government watchdogs been more pro-active and alert, this country would not have sunk so deeply in corruption resulting in widespread poverty, underdevelopment and a huge national debt.

Prompt remedial measures to address inadequacies and plug loopholes in the auditing system are now imperative. The public not only hopes but demands action on this.

—EVA MAGGAY-INCIONG,

Unit 301 Union Square One Condominium,

145 15th Avenue,

Cubao, Quezon City