Almost P200 million in pork barrel funds of 3 senators and a
party-list lawmaker have gone missing, along with a fake non-government
organization (NGO) that received the money.
The Commission on Audit (COA), in its latest audit of ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC) released Tuesday,
revealed that officials of the government-owned and -controlled
corporation (GOCC) have yet to account for the priority development
assistance funds (PDAF) from the 4 officials that went to Pangkabuhayan
Foundation Incorporated (PFI) in 2009-2010.
The 2012 audit of ZREC showed that the corporation has not acted on
24 various recommendations made by the COA to show where the money went.
COA's findings in 2011 implicated Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senator Bong Revilla, and Buhay party-list
Rep. Rene Velarde in the alleged fund misuse.
The 4 lawmakers' PDAFs were released by the Department of Agriculture to ZREC, which then appropriated the funds to PFI.
Its latest audit only said that ZREC told the lawmakers about the
irregularity and for the fake NGO to be blacklisted from receiving
government funds again.
The COA said PFI received a total of P199.683 million from the 4
lawmakers' pork barrel even if the NGO failed to qualify for the final
assistance.
The 4 lawmakers' PDAFs were released by the Department of Agriculture to ZREC, which then appropriated the funds to PFI.
The COA said its Special Audits Office will issue a separate report on the missing government funds.
Among the COA's recommendations that ZREC has yet to comply with,
three years after the funds were released, include the state-owned
corporation's failure to thoroughly vet the NGO.
ZREC has not also implemented COA's earlier recommendations of
demanding PFI to submit corrected audited financial statements;
quarterly income tax returns; disclosure of its officials, workers, and
office address; proof of equity; work and financial plan; as well as
complete project proposals.
COA told ZREC again to ask PFI to justify the purchase of water
pumps, hand tractors, composting facilities, planting materials and
vegetable seeds allegedly bought from suppliers which were very far from
the location of its projects.
COA listed other recommendations that ZREC has not implemented so far with regard to the funds given to PFI.
These include requiring PFI to refund P161.914 million to the
government due to fabricated documents and forged signatures it had
submitted for the liquidation of funds received from ZREC.
ZREC has not also filed a case against the bogus NGO.
"Documents submitted by PFI relative to the procurement of grafted
planting materials, hand tractors, hydro tiller, water pumps, vegetable
seeds, composting facility and manufacturing of organic fertilizer
procured by PFI in the total amount of P161.914 million out of the
P194.97 million funds received from ZREC as released to the latter by
the DA out of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of four
lawmakers did not match with the accountable forms (official receipts,
sales invoices and delivery receipts) of the suppliers and non-existence
of two suppliers as a result of the validation made by the Audit Team
(CY 2009), thus no legitimate procurement transaction existed between
PFI and the suppliers," COA stressed.
ZREC, which has a business address at the Philippine Stock Exchange
Centre, Exchange Road in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, is a subsidiary of
the Human Settlements Development Corp. (HSDC).
The COA, in its executive summary of the 2012 audit (see document
below), identified Carmen Guerrero Nakpil and Ernesto M. Ordoñez as
among shareholders of ZREC.
The GOCC engages in agricultural sector development including
commercial crop production, specifically rubber, in Tampilisan,
Zamboanga del Norte.
The COA, in its 2012 audit of the GOCC, said of the 93
recommendations it made to ZREC in the previous years' annual audit
reports, only 40 were implemented.
One was partially implemented, and 52 were not implemented, it added.
Of the 52 recommendations not implemented by ZREC, 22 recommendations pertain to use of lawmakers' pork barrel.
Jinggoy, Enrile claim innocence
Estrada earlier said he should not be blamed for the release of pork barrel funds to PFI.
He said that he nominated the NGO after the Department of Agriculture (DA) assured him that it was legitimate.
Estrada also denied receiving kickbacks from the bogus projects of
PFI, saying that everything he did was done in "good faith" to provide
livelihood programs to farmers.
"I have never received any kickbacks or whatsoever. I completely deny that. At hindi po mangyayari 'yun."
In a February 28, 2013 press statement, Estrada said ZREC benefited
from his PDAF during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
He said then Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and ZREC's board of directors should explain the discrepancy.
Estrada identified a certain Petronila A. Balmaceda as president of the bogus NGO.
Enrile, in a statement released on the same day, also claimed innocence in the irregularity.
He said senators' pork barrel funds are released directly to the
implementing offices, such as the DA.
"Our only participation in the
entire process is to identify the projects to be funded out of our PDAF
allocation, the localities where they are to be implemented and to
indicate the amounts intended for such. These are made under the
guidelines issued by the DBM. The DBM sets the limits, the qualified
implementing agencies and the type of projects that can be funded
through the PDAF."
"In the particular case of the Department of Agriculture, the
senators' offices are merely asked to indicate our confirmation
regarding the intended recipients and beneficiaries of the projects we
have identified. We routinely confirm this because it is the DA's
responsibility to ascertain the capability, competence or qualifications
of these recipients and to accredit them accordingly," he added.
"There is no layering of transactions that would perhaps allow us to
personally or financially benefit from them without being found out,"
Enrile said.
He accused Balmaceda and the non-existing PFI of forging signatures
of his staff members in documents sent to his office by the COA for
verification.
Tiangco claims 'trash politics'
COA Chairperson Grace Pulido Tan earlier said of the total PDAF released to PFI in 2009, about P100 million came from the office of Estrada.
She said P77 million came from the office of Enrile, P10 million from Revilla and P4 million from Velarde.
The opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) also claimed that politics was behind the COA's earlier revelations on ZREC and PFI early this year.
UNA spokesman Rep. Tobias Tiangco claimed the COA reports were being used by Palace-backed "political operators" to go after the opposition.
"Without fail, COA reports are released to media during the election season for obvious political purposes. Without fail, complaints are filed before the Ombudsman against political personalities and candidates based on COA reports," Tiangco said in a press statement last February.
He also accused the Aquino administration of engaging in "trash politics".
