Commission on Audit (Philippines)

The Commission on Audit is composed of a Chairperson and two Commissioners. They must be natural-born citizens of at least thirty-five years of age, and must be either a Certified Public Accountant or a lawyer. The members of the commission are appointed by the President of the Philippines, with the consent of the Commission of Appointments, for a term of seven years without reappointment.[3]

The members of the commission can only be removed from office via death, resignation or impeachment.

The 1987 Constitution staggered the terms of the members of the Constitutional Commissions. Of the first appointees, the Chairman would serve seven years (1st line), a Commissioner would serve five years (2nd line), and another Commissioner would serve three years (3rd line). Each seven-year term is denoted by alternating black and gray bars in the table below.

In Funa v. Villar, the Supreme Court ruled that a Commissioner can only be appointed as Chairman if the unexpired term for the office of chairman and the term that the Commissioner had already served does not exceed seven years. In such case, the Commissioner promoted as Chairman would serve the unexpired term of the chairman, forfeiting the duration of his original term as Commissioner. This was based on a case where Reynaldo A. Villar, who was appointed commissioner in 2004, was then appointed as chairman in 2008, making him serve out eleven years in total. Villar resigned before he served out the full seven-year term as chairman, but prior to the resolution of the case.[4]

• Supreme audit institution, similar offices in other countries

• The Official Website of the Commission on Audit