Press Release
July 15, 2008

Explain disbursement 'irregularities,' Loren asks Palace

Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday sought a Senate inquiry into irregularities and overspending allegedly committed by Malacañang. She cited the Commission on Audit (COA) annual report for the fiscal year 2007 wherein "the Office of the President has allegedly made irregular transactions such as unliquidated cash advances, "loans without records, donations diverted to uses not prescribed by donors, understated expenses and overstated accounts." The COA reports, Legarda pointed out, showed that Malacañang allegedly spent "scores of millions in travel expenses, maintenance costs, and other miscellaneous expenses as opposed to the minute and to some extent, zero disbursements in training, textbook and instructional materials, hazard pay," among others. The President reportedly spent a total of P588.5-M and P34.1M on foreign and domestic travels, respectively. The senator said, "This is scandalous misspending of public funds no matter how they rationalize it. We ask the people to tighten their belts when the government itself cannot do the same amid worsening economic conditions." She also said based on the COA report, Malacañang received donations worth P86 million, P37.3 million of which were used for unintended purposes. The same reports, Legarda said, showed that the Office of the President granted P594 million worth of cash advances to people who are not employees of the same office. "The government is spending the people's money as if money is going out of style," she said. "Is this the way the government should spend the people's money? Even unaccounted for persons partake of a bonanza." The allegations will be looked once the appropriate Senate committee convenes when the the Senate resumes its session late this month. Legarda said, "We cannot afford to let these alleged irregularities and overspending to happen when most of our countrymen are feeling the pinch of the economic slump. The government's disbursements need to be reviewed. Those sums should be spent for the benefit of the country, especially the marginalized." The country's inflation rate has reached 11.4 percent, the highest since 1994. The prices of crucial commodities such as food and fuel have risen alarmingly, affecting the lives of millions of Filipinos who live below the poverty line. Even the economic growth rate slowed down to 5.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. It was 7.0 percent in the same period last year. Legarda, who filed Resolution No. 495 to start the inquiry, said, "Transparency needs to be ensured in allocating government funds. Allocating these funds should not depend on the whim of a few government executives."

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