When explanations were made by Commission on Audit Chairperson Atty. Grace Pulido-Tan on how they linked certain senators or congressmen to the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) Scam, she said it was just a matter of diligently reviewing the documents submitted in the liquidation of the funds that were released to government line agencies like the Department of Agriculture, Technology & Livelihood Resource Center, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, and the Department of Energy.
Per guidelines set by law, the line agencies under the Office of the President implement the projects, duly funded by the General Appropriations Act. It has long been settled that no public funds can be released without allocation of the budget from Congress.
Bureaucracy set in, starting from the release of the Special Allocation Release Order (SARO) by the Department of Budget & Management.
Every step is lined with paperwork to comply with many laws — which prohibits the siphoning of public funds for private purposes. Meaning, it should not go to the bank accounts of certain corrupt government officials or to fake NGOs.
By virtue of the liquidation documents submitted, COA Chair Pulido-Tan disclosed there were glaring links that needed to be looked into by Special Audit. It is their duty to report their findings to the public.
After irregular findings are documented, an advice is given to the head of the agency through a Notice of Disallowance, and after the grace period, a final demand is made.
If the disallowance is not fully explained or liquidated properly, it is referred to the Ombudsman for the filing of criminal cases.
In due time, those people responsible will be held accountable.
In the same manner, Dean Cesar Villanueva, chairman of the Commission on Government-Owned & -Controlled Corporations, reported that they have found several government corporations which had not fulfilled their public purpose.
And by virtue of their findings, the PDAF Scam has linked government corporations like the Zamboanga del Norte College Rubber Estates Corp. (ZREC), and the Technology Resource Center — which have been abolished.
There are still many other GOCCs that were investigated, and have been recommended for abolition. The Philippine Forest Corp., where the ZTE scam whistleblower was president, has been abolished.
These government corporations were supposed to generate funds to augment the revenues of government, but instead, they only existed as conduits for PDAF releases.
As disclosed, the officers/directors of these government corporations drew stipends, allowances, bonuses, and even obtained loans — which did not benefit their public purpose. Their abolition will truly result in savings for government.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Teresa Herboso admitted they are in the process of computerizing their records to improve the monitoring systems of existing corporations , their directors and officers.
For example, if one person is connected to several corporations, the information can be accessed in the website. This improved computer system will prevent the constitution of bogus corporations and nefarious schemes like that of the Aman Futures scam.
From the disclosures of the three heads of agencies, it can now be told that the “Filipino people have been fried in their own pork!” The Filipino people who pay taxes to the government.
These taxes, which comprise government funds, are allocated by Congress through a national budget for the delivery of public services, infrastructure projects, health programs, food security, etc.
But now we know, there have been diversions of these government funds amounting to billions of pesos into the pockets of corrupt elected and appointed officials.
As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu had said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. At least P-Noy is taking the first step in the direction of the Daang Matuwid.
The recent Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the matter exposed the criminal schemes perpetuated by the very people who were trusted and so, elected by the Filipino people. Tama na!
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Author’s email: whelmayap@yahoo.com
