Filing charges over ‘pork’ scam up to DOJ, not Malacañang – Coloma

 News
Mar 022014
 

Malacañang said Sunday that filing charges over the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund is up to the Department of Justice.

“Wala po sa hurisdiksyon ng Malacanang ang pag-aaral ng mga kaso o mga usapin hinggil diyan,” Presidential Communications Operations Office secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said over government radio on Sunday. 

“Simula sapul, malinaw po ang batayang prinsipyo ng ating Pangulo at pamahalaan. Kinakailangang hayaan yung ebidensya na magturo kung saan patungo yung imbestigasyon,” he added.

The statement came after Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) secretary general, said said Saturday that the investigation into the so-called pork barrel scam seemed to be aimed only at members of the opposition.

The opposition stalwart on Saturday said the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation have yet to file charges against administration allies named in a Commission on Audit report on alleged misuse of their PDAF.

Tiangco said members of the Liberal Party who were identified in a COA report released last August as having received excess “pork barrel” allocations from 2007 to 2008 have yet to face charges.
 

“Imagine, inabot na ng 200 days pero wala pa ring nakakasuhan sa mga kaalyado ng Liberal Party? What’s really obvious and dubious is that the cases are all focused on the opposition. Ayaw na nilang idagdag ang mga kaibigan nilang sumawsaw sa PDAF. Malinaw na may cover up dito,” he said in a statement.

But Coloma said Sunday that the findings of the Audit commission still have to be evaluated by the Department of Justice.

“Hindi ibig sabihin na kapag may naiulat na COA findings ay dapat ay kasuhan na ang nakasangkot doon. Iba’t iba ang nilalaman ng mga COA finding reports,” he said.

Among the opposition lawmakers charged before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam are Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and  Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.

Based on the COA report, several Aquino allies, including House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., received discretionary funds beyond the P70 million allocated to each congressman from 2007 to 2008.

Two former lawmakers—Customs chief Ruffy Biazon and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Joel Villanueva—also went beyond their P70 million pork barrel allocation, the COA report said.

Biazon, a member of the Liberal Party, is currently facing malversation charges before the Ombudsman for his alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.

He resigned from the Customs bureau in December, saying he wanted to “protect [his] family, particularly [his] young children, from the exposure to the hostile environment of a public controversy.”

He has denied involvement in the PDAF scam and has said he is ready to face the allegations against him.

For Tiangco, Malacañang’s supposed bias in choosing which lawmakers to prosecute is also evident in the NBI’s decision to focus its investigation only on the bogus NGOs identified with businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

“It is very clear that this administration is using the Napoles case to persecute the opposition,” he said. — Xianne Arcangel/JDS, GMA News

Senate leaders: Funds for oversight panels not ending up in senators’ pockets

 News
Feb 242014
 
Senate leaders: Funds for oversight panels not ending up in senators’ pockets

Millions of pesos being allocated to Senate oversight committees are not ending up in senators’ pockets, Senate leaders said Monday. In a radio interview, Senate President Franklin Drilon said the annual budget for each of the chamber’s 24 oversight committees are all accounted for. “I can tell you, nagko-comply ang lahat ng mga senador. In fact, hirap na hirap mag-liquidate ng mga budget ng bawat komite,” Drilon said told radio dzRH. He added that oversight committees are required to present receipts and certifications for all their fund releases. A Philippine Star report published earlier in the day said the Commission on Audit (COA) recently sent a memorandum reminding senators on the proper use of funds for oversight committees. Oversight committees are created to check the implementation of specific laws. Some existing oversight panels include those tasked to monitor the Clean Air Act, the Overseas Voting Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Law. Audited, liquidated The reported COA memorandum came out amid accusations that Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada pocketed millions in their pork barrel funds. The three lawmakers have repeatedly denied these allegations. In a separate statement, Senate secretary Oscar Yabes said that although he has not yet seen the COA memorandum, the issues being raised on the budget of oversight panels “have been addressed already.” Yabes added that funds for these committees go to salaries of staff members and consultans, and not to the pockets of senators who chair the panels. “The Senate is Read More …

Tourism department told to return P162.3M in unauthorized allowances

 News
Jan 262014
 
Tourism department told to return P162.3M in unauthorized allowances

The Commission on Audit has issued a notice of disallowance to the Department of Tourism for P162.3 million in unauthorized bonuses and allowances given to officials and employees in 2011 and 2012. The notice includes an order to return the disallowed benefits.  According to a report that the COA released on its website on Friday, auditors found the following unauthorized disbursements: P10.99 million in excess Collective Negotiations Agreement (CNA) incentives for 2011 P40.84 million in economic assistance (P26.89M in 2011 and P13.95M in 2012) P53.33 million in economic relief allowance (P23.26M in 2011 and P19.49M in 2012) P5.82 million in calamity assistance for 2012 P5.96 million in birthday bonuses (P2.45M in 2011 and P3.51M in 2012) P29.28 million in educational assistance (P12.96M in 2011 and P16.31M in 2012) P16.22 million in professional and persona enhancement incentives in 2012 COA said the 2011 CNA authorized an across-the-board incentive of P25,000 but that the DOT released P48,000 per employee, an excess that totalled P10.99 million.  The Tourism also failed to seek approval from the Office of the President for P151.447 million in extra benefits granted in 2011 and 2012. “The payment of allowances and other forms of compensation without proper authority is deemed an irregular expenditure, hence, Notice of Disallowance No. 13-002-101 (11-12) dated November 5, 2013 was issued,” COA said. According to a transmittal letter attached to the audit report, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. received a copy of the audit findings on December 27, 2013. — JDS, GMA News

Agriculture chief faces new plunder complaint

 News
Jan 242014
 
Agriculture chief faces new plunder complaint

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso Alcala and National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) president Honesto Baniqued are facing plunder complaints for allegedly amassing billions of pesos in public money. In a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman Friday, Sanlakas party-list legal counsel Argee Guevarra accused Alcala and Baniqued of plunder, violating the Anti-Graft Law, malversation of public funds and violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The complaint stemmed from allegedly anomalous transactions, unliquidated projects and procurements totalling P11.4 billion that the Commission on Audit noted in its 2012 audit of the department. The complaint enumerated the alleged anomalies: P5.8 billion in financial transactions for 2012 were without supporting vouchers until Mar. 31, 2013; of these a remaining substantial amount of P8.5 million was disbursed without, to this date disbursement vouchers (DVs) and journal entry vouchers. Disbursements worth P31.4 million that lacked the signatures of the approving authority. The amount of P53 million supposedly invested in a joint venture that has gone missing and is not reflected in the joint venture partner’s books. A total of P156 million that was supposedly disbursed but cannot be found in the documentation for Nabcor’s project funds. A consultant was “hired” for P10.3 million to “negotiate” with another government entity, PDIC, when this was not needed and the amount of P5.3 million was allegedly expended without the consultant rendering work. In a telephone interview with GMA News Online, Guevarra questioned the timing of most of Nabcor’s transactions Read More …

Audit finds lax monitoring of CHED scholarship grants

 News
Dec 302013
 
Audit finds lax monitoring of CHED scholarship grants

The Commission on Audit (COA) has found alleged anomalies in the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) student financial assistance program (StuFAP), which used to be funded by the now-discontinued Priority Development Assistance Fund and Disbursement Acceleration Program. According to a “24 Oras” report aired Monday evening, COA’s 2012 audit findings, released Friday, showed CHED gave a disproportionate amount to students under their “Study Now, Pay Later” plan, and collected only a fraction of it from students. It found that study grants were given in violation of CHED guidelines. “The selection, screening, awarding and determination of the amount of the grant to each student beneficiary,” according to the report, “were entrusted to the Office of the Legislator through a [memorandum of agreement].” Because of this, student were given financial assistance ranging from P16,000 to P110,000, exceeding the P15,000 limit per semester for CHED’s Full Merit scholars. Despite the selection, some P112,638,412 in claims listed by CHED were found to lack proper documentation such as student grades and ITR.  Nine CHED regional offices reported a due amount of P138,591,978.43 from student borrowers, but only P2,469,242.65 was collected from these regions. The COa report cited a “collection efficiency ranging from 0.07 percent to 4.68 percent, due to lack of manpower, non-enforcement of the terms of the contract, inadequate monitoring system, and the absence and non-updating of [subsidiary ledgers].”  Meanwhile, checks amounting to P18,840,038.60 were released by CHED’s Central, NCR, and Region IV-A offices to people other than the registered beneficiaries. The anomalies spotted Read More …

Palace: COA looking into auditors tagged in anomalies

 News
Nov 292013
 
Palace: COA looking into auditors tagged in anomalies

The Commission on Audit (COA) has been looking into its own auditors who are being tagged in anomalies, including the alleged systematic misuse of pork barrel funds, a Malacañang official said Friday. “From what I understand, given the past pronouncements of the COA chair herself, the COA is self-aware and that they have also started looking into the possibility that some auditors or resident auditors may be part of the crimes that have happened,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press conference. She was responding to queries on the need for a house cleaning in COA following the announcement that 12 resident COA auditors are among the 34 respondents in the malversation, direct bribery and graft and corrupt practices complaint to be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam. Aside from this, COA had also been criticized over the agency’s use of funds from the Aquino administration’s controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for the purchase of service vehicles. Valte, however, said Budget Sec. Butch Abad had already clarified that the money that was used to pay for the vehicles was sourced from the savings of COA itself. She also clarified that they cannot give orders to COA, and that any internal investigation is initiated by the agency. “The viability of giving COA orders would be misplaced at this point, given that the Commission on Audit is an independent constitutional commission,” she said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News

COA: DSWD has P854M unliquidated ‘pork’ funds

 News
Oct 192013
 
COA: DSWD has P854M unliquidated ‘pork’ funds

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has not yet liquidated pork barrel funds amounting to P854.4 million that was released through it for programs of various non-government organizations,  according to the Commission on Audit report. In a COA report released Friday, state auditors disclosed total fund releases to NGOs from 2006 and prior years and until December 31, 2012, amounted to P1.042 billion, of which 83 percent or P872.611 million has remained unliquidated. A detailed breakdown attached to the audit report showed at least half of the unliquidated amount was disbursed between 2010 and 2012. Of the total P1.042 billion, P854.4 million was from lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations, commonly called “pork barrel.” NGO beneficiaries were supposed to liquidate cash allotments through submission of “Fund Utilization Reports (FURs),” a requirement most of them simply ignored, and that the DSWD had been lax about monitoring compliance, the COA report said. “Insufficient efforts to monitor project implementation and failure to enforce the immediate liquidation of fund transfers… resulted in minimal settlement on funds transferred to various NGOs and/or POs [people’s organizations],” it added. Moreover, it said, “We recommend that management send demand letters to NGOs/POs with outstanding obligation and monitor continuously its settlement.” State auditors have recommended that DSWD stop granting additional funds to NGOs with unliquidated balances. Likewise, it suggested to “impose sanctions against NGOs/POs found remiss in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.” The PDAF has become controversial since the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam surfaced Read More …

COA raises adjudication prices for government officials, private sector

 News
Sep 082013
 
COA raises adjudication prices for government officials, private sector

The Commission on Audit (COA) has doubled the ceiling prices of its adjudication fees on cases regarding the disbursement of government funds, while the amount was raised five times for persons in the private sector with money claims. The amount for the former was raised to P20,000, doubling the maximum amount set in the 2008 COA resolution and 2009 Revised Rules of Procedure. This will affect filing of notices of disallowance or denial of claims for compensation, requests from relief from accountability, condonation and write-offs at one-tenth of one percent of the amount involved in the query, as long as it will not exceed the new ceiling price. These fees are paid by government officials and employees from their personal funds. Private firms or individuals filing money claims against government agencies or requests for approval of sale of a government asset will be charged the same percentage, if it does not exceed P50,000. These fees will be paid by the claimants themselves. Exceptions will be granted under special circumstances yet to be determined by the Commission Proper, made up of COA chairperson Ma Gracia M. Pulido Tan and Commissioners Heidi L. Mendoza and Rowena V. Guanzon. They also signed the resolution. The resolution will take effect immediately, and will be circulated in two newspapers. — RT/BM, GMA News

Palace: Opposition using 'pork' issue for politicking

 News
Sep 062013
 
Palace: Opposition using 'pork' issue for politicking

Malacañang on Friday accused members of the opposition of using the pork barrel scam issue for politicking. At a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said she’s “quite amused” by the recent “string of press releases” asking for the resignation of different Cabinet members. “Hindi ko po alam sa kanila kung sino po talaga ‘yung mga pinupuntirya nila. But, in the past week, there have been more than three na binabanggit. Isa po, mag-resign daw, dapat liable, dapat ganito,” she said. Valte was reacting to criticisms on how quickly the Palace has been supposedly clearing government officials linked to the scam, including Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, a close ally of President Benigno Aquino III. “We have the ability to quickly discern what is a substantial allegation and what is an allegation borne out of politicking,” she said. Other officials who have been implicated in the scam were Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. Self-righteous Reacting to Valte’s statement, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said Malacañang was being “self-righteous.” “Ang pinapalabas nila sila lang ang may karapatan to discern. Napaka-self righteous naman ‘yun. Ibig sabihin sila lang ang judge? Same COA report naman ang pinagbabasehan,” Tiangco, secretary general of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), told GMA News Online by phone. He was referring to a Commission on Audit (COA) report detailing the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds by several government officials, most of them lawmakers. The report said Roxas, during his stint as Read More …

PNoy: 'Luis Abalos' in COA report a mistake

 News
Aug 212013
 
PNoy: 'Luis Abalos' in COA report a mistake

Did the Commission on Audit (COA) err in reporting that P20 million in “pork barrel” funds went to a non-lawmaker between 2007 and 2009? President Benigno Aquino III thinks so. In a recent exclusive interview with GMA News, Aquino said the Luis Abalos referred to in the COA special audit report that bared the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds was incumbent Mandaluyong mayor Benhur Abalos, who was a member of the House of Representatives in 2007. “Yung pangalan nung isang tao na hindi miyembro nung Kongreso, ngayon sabi nila sa ‘tin miyembro ng Kongreso. Mali lang ‘yung binigay na first name,” Aquino said in a report aired on “24 Oras” on Wednesday. Abalos, son of former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, served as Mandaluyong representative from 2004 to 2007. The report said Budget Secretary Butch Abad had himself confirmed that it was Benhur Abalos who was named “Luis Abalos” in the COA report. — Rie TakumI/KBK, GMA News

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