MANILA – The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) denied spending for the campaign shirts of senatorial aspirant Christopher “Bong” Go that were given in a Liga ng mga Barangay convention recently.
DILG secretary Eduardo Año said opposition senatorial bet Rodolfo “Gary” Alejano was just bluffing with his claim that the agency spent for the shirts given during the event held from Feb. 25 to 27 in Pasay.
“We categorically deny the allegation of Rep. Gary. Alejano that government funds were used to purchase Bong Go campaign t-shirts and distributed during the Liga ng mga Barangay Convention,” he said in a statement.
Alejano on Tuesday made public Año’s Memorandum Circular No. 23, which encouraged village officials to attend the event and authorized those participating in the convention to charge their travel expenses and registration fees from their local funds.
The fee, which includes payment for seminar materials, reportedly ranged from P13,800 for those who did not stay at select hotels to P19,800 for stay-in attendees.
“We wish to emphasize that nothing in the memorandum permitted the use of government funds to pay for any campaign materials of any candidate. So, Alejano is barking at the wrong tree when he showed the DILG memorandum as basis for his unsubstantiated allegation,” Año said.
Faustino Dy V, the national president of the Liga ng mga Barangay, said in a statement that no public funds were used to buy the T-shirts given away during their first national assembly.
“We can assure the public that no public funds from the LNB or the individual barangays were used to purchase campaign materials of any candidate. The LNB remains an apolitical association of punong barangays,” Dy said.
He added: “The T-shirts referred to by Congressman Gary Alejano in his statement were sent by Bayan For Bong Go. It is a private organization of individuals who are supportive of the candidacy of (Go) and all the shirts were donated.”/PN
