President Rodrigo Duterte should be more circumspect in publicly issuing counsel to local government officials to disobey the Commission on Audit (CoA) concerning its policies and regulations in the procurement of supplies and building materials. His words could be twisted and misused in ways that might be disruptive to government operations or injurious to public welfare.

While the authority of the President is unchallenged within the executive branch, unless he breaches the law, the authority of the audit commission is equally supreme within its sphere of competence – the examination and audit of accounts pertaining to government revenue and receipts.