CORRUPTION, an apparent eternal scourge of Philippine government and politics, is firmly entrenched in many public agencies.

BEING CHIEF bean counter may not sound that impressive, and the probability of going against countless politicians could be daunting. Yet the job of leading the 9,000 personnel under the Commission on Audit is crucial enough to merit a close scrutiny of the big names that have been floated as possible successors to outgoing COA Chairperson Ma. Gracia M. Pulido-Tan: Budget and Management Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ B. Abad, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares, and Executive Secretary Paquito ‘Jojo’ N. Ochoa Jr.

SHE IS the first female head of the Commission on Audit, but that will not be the only distinction Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan will be remembered for after her term of office lapses tomorrow. Indeed, she will leave behind a trail of groundbreaking reforms in the government’s premier audit institution, even though she was its chief for only three years and nine months.

THE PHILIPPINES has had seven chairpersons for the Commission on Audit (COA) since 1986. Yet while they have wound up being named respondents in court cases, most of these chairpersons have not been as well-known as other leaders of agencies in charge of the budget.