Solgen: Let private auditors open ‘Big 3’ books

MANILA, Philippines - Government lawyer Agnes Devanadera on Tuesday broke her silence on the court order to audit the country's three biggest oil companies, saying the job would be better done by private audit firms. Devanadera, defending her petition asking the Manila Regional Trial Court to reconsider its decision, said the government agencies tasked to open the books of Pilipinas Shell, Chevron Corporation (formerly Caltex) and Petron Corporaiton may go beyond their mandate. “Hindi namin pinahinto ang audit o ang order ng regional trial court. Nagkakaroon (ng ibang) position kung sino dapat mag-audit [We are not seeking a stop to the audit or defying the regional trial court. But we have a different position on who should do the auditing]," she said in an interview on dzXL radio. The Solicitor General earlier asked Manila Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. to reconsider his decision ordering the Commission on Audit (COA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to undertake the auditing. She said this was done after consultations with the three agencies. “We reached the conclusion that the Constitutional mandate is very clear, that the COA can audit only government agencies," she said in Filipino. - GMANews.TV