The Organic Law regulates the scope, organization, powers and functioning of the National System of Control and the Office of the Comptroller General as the technical body of the System.
The standards contained in this Act and those issued by the Office are applicable to all entities subject to supervision by the system, regardless of the legal or funding source under which they operate.
The following statements are some of the powers of the Office of the Comptroller General according to the Organic Law:
Organic Law of the National System of Control and the Office of the Comptroller General
1. Perform Ex Ante Audit, in three specific cases:
· Giving a previous opinion about the procurement of goods, services and works which according to the law have the character of military secret or internal order exempt from Public bidding, Public Tender or direct award.
· Granting a previous authorization to the implementation and payment of additional public works budgets whose amounts exceed those foreseen in the Law of Contracts and Procurement and its Regulations respectively, whatever the source of funding is.
· Reporting in advance operations, deposits and guarantees granted by the State, including draft contracts, which compromise in any way its credit or financial capacity, whether they are negotiations in the country or abroad.
2. Perform ex post Audit: financial, compliance and performance.
3. Arrange the appropriate legal action by the Public Prosecutor of the Office of the Comptroller General, in cases where in the direct implementation of a control action an economic damage or presumption of criminal offense is found.
4. Power to punish the officials or civil servants who commit offenses against the public administration.
5. Audit the General Account of the Republic and submit the corresponding report to the Congress.
6. Perform control measures of environment and natural resources as well as goods constituting the National Cultural Heritage.
7. Receiving and addressing complaints and suggestions from the public regarding the public administration functions.
8. Promoting the citizens participation through public audiences and surveillance systems in the entities through oversights in order to assist in governmental control.
9. Conducting actions to prevent corruption:
· Issuing rules and/or procedures to implement operational measures and actions against administrative corruption through government control.
· Promoting a culture of honesty and integrity in public administration as well as the adoption of mechanisms of transparency and integrity inside the institutions.
10. Checking and monitoring the compliance of the provisions about prohibitions and incompatibilities of public officials, employees and others, as well as those concerning the prohibition to exercise the power of staff appointment in the public sector in cases of nepotism.
11. Establishing procedures for operators of entities to timely send their accounting report to the Governing Body by the funds or property of the state in charge, and the results of their management.
12. Control of beneficiary public entities of foreign donations.
13. Monitoring the budget execution performance making recommendations to promote reforms in the administrative systems of the entities subject to the System.