The Office of the Ombudsman has launched an investigation into Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Mario Lipana, amid questions of conflict of interest linked to his family’s business dealings with the government, as reported by RH Milky Rigonan.

The issue was raised by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio during deliberations on the COA’s 2026 budget, directed at Rep. Keith Mika Tan, who serves as sponsor for the agency’s budget.

Tinio pressed Tan on Lipana’s potential conflict of interest, citing the controversy surrounding anomalous flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

It was revealed that Lipana’s wife owns Olympus Mining and Builders Group Philippines Corp., a company that secured multi-million peso flood control contracts with the government.

While withholding further details, Tan confirmed that the Ombudsman has already placed Lipana under a fact-finding investigation.

COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba himself admitted that Lipana’s ties to his wife’s contracting firm presented a clear conflict of interest.

Under the law, however, a COA commissioner cannot be dismissed outright and may only be removed through impeachment proceedings.