Don't pass corruption as 'SOP,' Loren says

Senator Loren Legarda yesterday said that corruption should never be regarded as 'standard operating procedure' no matter if corrupt people try to pass corruption as such, when in fact it is not.

Legarda issued the statement in reaction to controversial double insertion for the C-5 extension projects in the 2008 Budget, amounting to P400 million.

"Corruption in government always presents itself as normal and regular. Corruption always wants to hide in plain sight. That is why corrupt people call what they do 'SOP'," she said.

Legarda said that when the 2000 budget was submitted by DBM to Congress, it contained an item of P200 million for "President Carlos P. Garcia Avenue from SLEX t Sucat Road, including right-of-way", but when the budget was approved by Congress, another P200 million item was inserted for "C-5 Road from SLEX to Sucat Road, including right-of-way".

"We all know that President CP Garcia is the same as C-5 Road, so these two separate budget items are for the same project," she said.

"It is important that our people know who inserted the second budget for the same project," said Legarda, adding that only someone interested in the project would want to insert a budget for a favored project.

Legarda cited the report of Department of Budget Management Secretary Andaya who said that DBM had released the first P200 million for CP Garcia but not the second P200 million for C-5 Road.

But Secretary Andaya, according to Legarda, admitted that his department did not notice these two separate budget entries for the same project.

"The culprit may have known that there was already a budget for it, and that it might have been possible that the second P200 million for C-5 Road could have been released later in the year when DBM considers releasing some of the Congressional insertions," she said.

"It is important for our people to know what happens when another budget for the same project is released and who benefits from it," she said.

"Kickbacks from government purchases are called SOP. Bribery to get government approval is called SOP," she said, adding that the this double entry for the same project is one of those SOP's.

Legarda pointed out that if the intention was only to boost the funding for a certain project, it should have been done by merely making the P200 million for Pres. CP Garcia Avenue P400 million.

"Instead, two separate budgets were allocated for a single project using different headings," she noted.

"We should always get to the bottom of these corrupt practices so that we can pinpoint the culprits and punish them in accordance with our laws," she said.