RESPONSIBLE. Former state auditor Heidi Mendoza, one of the key witness to the Garcia case, talks before representatives of various civil-society organizations (CSOs) all over Mindanao on the importance of monitoring the budget process of local government units (LGUs). Photo: Bong Fabe

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – “Huwag ho nating hayaan na maghari ang kasamaan! (Let us not let evil reign!)”

With this message, former state auditor Heidi Mendoza, who testified against ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia, urged the citizenry to be vigilant in monitoring the budget process of the government.

Mendoza, who talked with representatives of various civil-society organizations (CSOs) during the “Learning Session on Budget Process, Policy Advocacy and Budget Execution and Accountability” of the Budget Tracking for Transparent Accountable Governance (BTTAG) Project at the International Center of Peace (IC Peace) in Mindanao here said that each and every citizen has a responsibility to his/her fellow, especially in arresting corruption in government.

This responsibility, she stressed, extends outside the home and not just for government or former government officials or employees.

“I believe that the biggest responsibility is our responsibility towards our fellowmen,” she said.

“We are all called to serve our country, one way or another. And this is not just for people in government,” she added.

This is the reason why after resigning from the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2006 and testifying before the Sandiganbayan from 2007 to 2009 in the Garcia case, Mendoza once again came out and divulged what she knew based on evidences she gathered during her investigative work.

She thought that she could just sit back, be silent and enjoy her new job with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as anti-corruption specialist. But the pull of her responsibility to the country was so strong that she had to give up her well-paying job with ADB so she could shout to high heavens what she knows of the controversial Garcia case that has dragged on for years.

Mendoza resigned from the ADB effective January 21.

“We are all here for a mission, for a purpose. We only have one country and so we must do our best to deliver what is expected of us,” she told representatives of CSOs who are partnering with The Asia Foundation (TAF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (BMFI) in implementing the BTTAG Project in 3 provinces and 17 municipalities/cities all over Mindanao.

Mendoza said that BTTAG is very important and a very noble project as it equips simple citizens the basic skills and knowledge in planning and most especially monitoring the budget of local government units (LGUs).

But she cautioned the CSOs against falling on the trap of looking at just the government expending. “There are two sides of accountability when we talk of public budget: We must not just look on the expenses but also on the revenue,” she stressed.

She said that the citizenry should grab the opportunity afforded to them by the Aquino administration in monitoring government finance. But more than grabbing the opportunity, the citizenry should exert its influence on government finance, Mendoza added.

“Part of budget monitoring is the citizen exerting the influence,” she said.

She said that she is happy that the Aquino administration is treading the road less traveled when it put a CSO desk in the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). “This administration is very open as there is a CSO desk in the DBM,” she said.