MANILA – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon suspects around P33 billion in government funds were parked in Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), a firm under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
In a television interview on Monday, the Ilonggo senator said he initially discovered that only P18 billion government funds were there, but after reviewing audited financial statements, he said there could have been more.
“The latest financial statement as of Dec. 31, 2019 indicates that customers’ deposit in PITC is P33.4 billion,” Drilon said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart.
“Now, assuming that there are also some private sector deposits which is not much, you are talking about funds to the tune of P33 billion in government funds deposited in a small trading firm,” he added.
According to Drilon, government agencies usually tap the PITC when they are supposed to purchase goods and products, “and pass on the budget there so that they will say it is already obligated when in truth and fact it is just deposited.”
PITC was recently tasked with importing COVID-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies amid optimistic reports about the results of recent phased trials.
Meanwhile, instead of the creation of Department of Disaster Resilience, Drilon urged the government to focus on next year’s spending plan on health and social sectors with the country still facing the pandemic.
The Ilonggo senator added that an additional calamity fund is needed as the proposed calamity fund for next year is at P16 billion as compared to the P20 billion last year.
“It will be a disaster because what we need is additional disaster or calamity funds not additional bureaucracy. For every department you create you spend one and a half billion in terms of salary and MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) and you add to the bureaucracy,” Drilon said.
“To create the Department of Disaster is a disaster because you need funds especially today for calamity, COVID, housing, education rather than an additional bureaucracy,” he added.
Drilon added that the proposed P131-billion budget for the Department of Health and the suggested P71 billion fund for state insurer PhilHealth were “grossly inadequate.”
“There are so many areas to be addressed and so little funds to be distributed. We must be able to focus on the right needs to be addressed at least for 2021. My belief is given all these needs of our poor set of people. This budget must refocus its concern to the health and social sector of our government,” he said./PN
