NTC Exec Takes Oath As COA Chief
The newly appointed Commission on Audit chairman was the head of the National Telecommunications Commission when it ordered ABS-CBN to stop operations after its franchised expired on May 5, 2020.
Long-time telecommunications commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba has been sworn into office as the new chairman of the Commission on Audit (COA), the Supreme Court (SC) said Friday, Oct. 21.
Malacañang confirmed the appointment but has yet to release details about it.
The SC public information office shared a photo of Cordoba taking his oath of office before Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
Cordoba replaces former solicitor general Jose Calida, whose appointment as COA chairman was earlier bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA). Calida resigned earlier this month allegedly due to health reasons.
Both Calida and Cordoba were key figures in the shutdown of ABS-CBN’s free television broadcast operations in May 2020 after the former media giant failed to secure a renewed franchise from the House of Representatives.
Back then, Cordoba was head of the National Telecommunications Commission – the agency tasked to supervise, adjudicate and control all telecommunications services in the country.
The new COA chief is set to serve a seven-year term, or until 2029, with no reappointment. However, his designation still needs to be confirmed by the CA.
COA is an independent constitutional body whose function is to examine, audit and settle all accounts and spending of government funds and properties. – With additional reports from Helen Flores and Elizabeth Marcelo
