HEIDI MENDOZA, commissioner of the Philippines’s Commission on Audit, has been nominated to a senior position in the United Nations.In a press advisory released from New York oct. 5, the UN said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultations with Chairs of Regional Groups, informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint COA’s Mendoza “as the new […]
by Rowena F. Caronan and Malou Mangahas
TAKING ON corruption is never easy. After two years of investigation by nearly three dozen lawyers of the Office of the Ombudsman reviewing thousands of documents, the corruption cases involving the use of pork-barrel funds against an incredible tally of legislators are far from being concluded. Many of the cases have not even reached trial […]
by Malou Mangahas, Fernando Cabigao Jr., and Rowena F. Caronan
EVEN THOUGH the Supreme Court (SC) had declared the pork barrel dead and unconstitutional in 2013, the Commission on Audit’s (COA) Annual Audit Report (AAR) would still show that P125.95 million of the legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) sitting in a small agency, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA, during that […]
by Fernando Cabigao Jr. and Vino Lucero
THEY ARE supposed to be top-rate technical vocational institutions (TVIs), which is why they bagged millions of pesos from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA.Or actually, from the pork-barrel funds of some legislators that had been loaded up in TESDA’s agency budget.But the Commission on Audit (COA), in its report on TESDA […]
by Malou Mangahas, Fernando Cabigao Jr., and Vino Lucero
TWO PICTURES in stark contrast have been drawn about one agency: the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).The first, a none-too-flattering one, by the Commission on Audit (COA), which speaks of “deficiencies” by the dozen in the agency’s implementation of its massive training and scholarship programs.The second, glowing and pretty, by President Benigno S. […]
by Davinci S. Maru and Malou Mangahas
AT THE height of the media hoopla over the pork-barrel scam two years ago, Dennis Cunanan had a perennially furrowed brow that matched a grim countenance. But the Dennis Cunanan who sat down with PCIJ recently looked relaxed – which is not exactly what one would expect from someone facing multiple graft cases at the […]
Lean harvest for ‘Daang Matuwid’
by Earl G. Parreño
FIGHTING corruption has been one of the top priorities of President Benigno S. Aquino III. Or so he claims. He bannered the slogan “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” during the 2010 presidential campaign.He promised to be the “most-determined fighter of corruption” in his Social Contract with the Filipino People, the Aquino administration’s platform until 2016. […]
Sidebar 2, Part 3
WHEN it conducted its special audit on the disbursement of pork in 2007-2009, part of the methodology that the Commission on Audit (COA) employed was to confirm the authenticity of documents from the concerned parties – the legislators who endorsed the projects, the suppliers and beneficiaries, and the regulatory offices. This was COA’s way of […]
Sidebar 1, Part 3
PCIJ SENT 20 legislators implicated in the alleged corruption of pork funds separate letters requesting for comments. Only three responded in writing, a fourth had his chief of staff interviewed on cam, and a fifth promised to send his reply via courier.The three who sent response letters – Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. […]
by Rowena F. Caronan
AS THINGS stand, it looks like the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Party (LP) of President Benigno S. Aquino III has more members implicated in the pork-barrel scandal than parties belonging to the opposition.Of the 114 legislators who were allegedly involved in anomalous pork projects in 2007 to 2009, 38 now belong to the […]
