MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte urged the Commission on Audit (COA) to reconsider its former decision disallowing the transfer of P5-million Marawi City housing project funds to the Mecca pilgrimage of displaced Marawi residents.
In a speech during the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Davao City on Thursday, Duterte said being able to attend the Islamic pilgrimage Hajj is more important for Muslims than government housing efforts.
“I’m asking COA to reconsider. Ano ba naman ‘yang P5-million? Actually, that P5-million is worth billions in terms of your kind generosity to finance the poor people na Muslim para makapag-Hajj,” Duterte said.
“You can forget the housing there being planned by the government but to the individual Muslim believer, five mansyon ibigay ng gobyerno, but a simple token of generosity makapunta siya makapag-Hajj, mas mahalaga ‘yan sa kaniya,” he added.
Based on COA’s 2018 report, it flagged the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council’s (HUDCC) transfer of P5-million in rehabilitation funds to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos for the annual Muslim pilgrimage of some evacuees from Marawi City.
Duterte explained the fund diversion was not illegal since there is an annual P15-million allocation to fund the pilgrimage of Muslim Filipinos.
“There is a fund set aside to enhance the travel of brothers and sisters for the pilgrimage to fulfill a lifetime dream,” Duterte said.
The transferred amount came from the P500-million allocated by the office of the President to HUDCC for rehabilitation expenses of the Marawi task force to be used for the “recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the City of Marawi and other affected localities.” /PN
