President Rodrigo Duterte hit on Wednesday United Nations (UN) Undersecretary General and former Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza for "lecturing" him over the COA's audit process.

Duterte earlier told the local officials to ignore COA's circular after Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos complained that the audit agency refused cash advances for the procurement of materials for calamity victims.

Mendoza, however, in her Facebook post said Duterte should respect COA, which is "a long standing, dignified institution whose men and women spent long hours working for its flag and our people.

She said some of COA employees "even laid their lives defending and protecting public coffers."

But Duterte, in a speech in Malacanang, said he has long been in government, even longer than Mendoza, thus, he knew what he was talking about.

"That's why COA, Heidi, she answered, I’d like to tell her: You know, when I was a prosecutor, fiscal of Davao, city fiscal, assistant city fiscal. I was at the same time a special Tanodbayan prosecutor," he said.

"What I mean is, she could not lecture me because I was ahead of her by a mile, there in understanding, the nitty-gritty," Duterte stressed. Celerina Monte/DMS