October 19, 2007 · Posted in: Arroyo Impeachment, Governance, In the News
All the President’s funds
NOW that Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya has denied that the funds used for “cash gifts” and “tokens” to local officials came from the national budget, many are wondering where the money could have come from.
Some have suggested that the money came from the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) which promptly issued a denial, saying that it doesn’t have access to such a big amount of money. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said that the money came from the Office of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., which the latter also denied.
Speculations have formed around the Office of the President, which has one of the biggest budgets in the bureaucracy. This year the budget amounted to about P3.8 billion, according to Andaya, who also denied that the money came from the Office of the President.
If Andaya is to be believed, then the money may have come from the as-yet-unknown benefactor/s’ private funds, something which is no less disturbing. Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio has said that the money was withdrawn from the Bank of Commerce.
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WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?
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P500,000
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Amount of ‘cash gift’ received by some local officials at Malacañang
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238
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Number of congressmen and governors who attended meetings at Malacañang
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7
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Number of local officials who have admitted receiving money
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P119 MILLION
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Total amount of money received by local officials (assuming each received P500,000)
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The President draws her confidential and intelligence funds from the budget allotted to her office for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE.) These funds include amounts from savings authorized by special provisions to be used for intelligence and counter-intelligence activities and are released only upon approval of the President.
Confidential and intelligence funds, along with other discretionary funds, do not undergo the usual auditing procedures. Instead, a quarterly report on the accomplishments in the use of confidential and intelligence funds is submitted to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chairman of the Commission on Audit.
There is also the executive’s “pork barrel” under the President’s Social Fund which are sourced from earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to help finance development projects. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) also contributes portions of its earnings to the Office of the President.
There are also lump-sum allocations falling under Special Purpose Funds which, although meant for the specific purposes they were appropriated, critics say, are vulnerable to presidential discretion. These include the National Unification Fund, Calamity Fund, Contingent Fund, E-Government Fund, and certain funds categorized under Allocations to Local Government Units such as the Kilos Asenso and Kalayaan Barangay Program Funds.
The Kilos Asenso Fund is the national government counterpart to support programs and projects of LGUs under the Kilos Asenso Movement. The fund is meant to finance construction of farm-to-market roads, small bridges, and day care centers; improvement of potable water supply; setting up or upgrading of micro-financed community livelihood enterprises; investments in agro-forestry projects; and other similar projects.
Funds under the Kalayaan Barangay Program, on the other hand, are financial assistance to barangays in conflict areas as identified by the Department of National Defense and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. These are to be used for livelihood projects and basic infrastructure works such as access roads, school buildings, water systems, electricity and medical facilities.
Lastly, there are unprogrammed funds in the national budget that are also under the discretion of the President. The release of the funds, however, is contingent on an excess in revenue collection targets.
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FUNDS UNDER THE PRESIDENT’S DISCRETION
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P650 million
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Confidential and Intelligence Funds
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P9 billion
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Calamity Fund
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P800 million
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Contingent Fund
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P50 million
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National Unification Fund
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P1 billion
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E-Government Fund
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P1.7 billion
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Pagcor Social Fund and Intelligence Fund
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P3 billion
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PCSO and Lotto Funds
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P5 billion (2006)
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Kilos Asenso Support Fund
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P3 billion (2006)
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Kalayaan Barangay Program Fund
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P30.5 billion
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Unprogrammed Fund (Support for Infrastructure Projects and Social Programs)
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Sources: DBM, House of Representatives
In 2005, the PCIJ revealed that Arroyo issued postdated checks to support the pet projects of favored legislators and other questionable projects.
Three postdated checks worth P15 million were released from the President’s Social Fund to the Department of Education (DepEd). Although the DepEd was listed as a payee, the A.M. Diaz Scholarship Program of then Zambales representative Antonio Magsaysay Diaz was printed on the back of the checks.
Then, DepEd sources suspected that the fund releases were tied to Palace maneuvers to kill the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.
With another impeachment complaint looming on the horizon, could history be repeating itself?
6 Responses to All the President’s funds
rhy_me1975
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
wow ang dami palang source si arroyo kaya pala ang lakas ng loob mamigay ng pera. according to coa, around 600million plus is not accounted…base on computation above she gave roughly 119 million so we now know where the 119 million go tsk tsk
im just wondering, does this mean that all the people in the palace are corrupt since nobody even bothered to expose this corrupt practice.
why did they spend the funds for victims in hotels and malacanang golf course? magagalit ba si mike? is this how insensitive they are to people
pinakacorrupt talaga ang arroyo administration
pedongcoolest
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Nakakalula sa laki ang pera ng OP. Mas nakakalula na malamang pnakia-alaman pa ng OP ang donations for the victims of Leyte Landslide and Supertyphoon Reming.
Here in Albay, victims of Reming relocated at Taysan Resettlemen Site just this month left the housing units awarded them. Why? Wala kasing ilaw at tubig!
Sa dami ng sources ng OP hindi na sana ginamit sa maintenance ng golf course ang donations sa calamity victims. It could have been used sa electrification ng site and provision ng source of drinking water.
Namimigay sila ng 500k sa mga opisyal na dati nang mapepera pero binabawasan iyong dapat sa mahihirap!
Whew!!!!!!!!
bukolitos
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 am
If she gave the money as alleged. What will stop her from giving money to her relatives. Dado might need funds to build his own house in Metro Manila? Maganda palang umatend ng meeting sa Malacanang pay pakimkim.
aus_phil
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
The recent publication of COA’s audit findings about the operations of the funds of the Office of the President was nerve wrecking! Although COA qualified their report, it is simply short of saying that there are indications, again and as usual, of anomalies. People would wonder if COA would endorse their findings to the Ombudsman so that an investigation could be initiated. It should not matter whether that the Office of the President or whoever is the head of that Office. This is people’s money not spent, accounted or indications or perception of anomalies are likely. This present government is not functioning anymore, the way we expect it because the corrupt politicians are more concerned with the money they could accummulate (for personal wealth of course)rather than the services they are oblige to provide to the Filipino people. It’s already sickening with the news of the many anomalies under this present administration. The Speaker’s call to clean the messes in 100 days by changing some of the officials is a good move but not good enough simply because we will be changing corrupt officials with another and perhaps more corrupt officials. Why not give these corrupt officials severe lessons. Well, we have one already in the person of a previous president but mind you, he might be pardoned, absolute of course, as if Sandiganbayan was wrong in its judgment of plunder! Only the President of the Philippines could grant this pardon of course. But pardon me Madam President, what is the point of wasting people’s money in adjudicating the plunder case when the accused will be pardoned anyway, without guilt! Perhaps the ex-President is not really guilty! I’m confused! Well it’s time to pause again simply because Philippine politics is a bit weird but for sure dirty! How will the Filipino people be inspired to follow their leaders who are corrupt and bribe ridden? No way Jose!
egs_68@yahoo.com
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:42 pm
nakagigigil… nakagagalit…nakapangingilabot na sistema ng gobyerno!!! wala na ba talagang nagnanais na mabuhay sa katotohanan? Talamak na at umaagos na sa bawat dugo ng sinumang kumukubli sa katiwalian… ito na ata ang ating tatak! habang halos magkandakuba na tayong mga ordinaryong tao sa pagtatrabaho heto at walang habas na kinakamkam ang ating pinaghirapan na sanay tayo ang makikinabang. May konsensya pa bang natitira sa mga tinaguriang “public servants”?
The Daily PCIJ » Blog Archive » Panlilio, other local officials in hot water over ‘cash gifts’
November 14th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
[…] Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio’s testimony during the first day of the Senate hearing on the “cash gifts” given to local officials and congressmen in Malacañang last […]