MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is investigating the P1.4-billion land acquisition deal of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) entered by ex-administrator Arnell Ignacio.
According to Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne “PJ” Caunan, the acquisition is being investigated as it supposedly did not have approval by the agency’s Board of Trustees.
“[DMW] Secretary Hans Cacdac made a statement already. Allow me to say this, and as a lawyer I would also say this: there’s an investigation… I will allow due process to take its course,” Caunan said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
She added: “As the new administrator of OWWA, we will perform the necessary audit, we will seek the required legal opinion from the Department of Justice and we will engage with the Commission on Audit.”
Cacdac said in a recent interview that Ignacio was sacked due to “loss of trust and confidence” due to the P1.4-billion land acquisition deal not authorized by the OWWA Board.
The land purchase was supposed to be for a “half-way house” or a dormitory-type accommodation of overseas Filipino workers to be located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
“Let’s go back to OWWA law. It says there that the power to purchase a real property… the approval should be with the Board of Trustees of OWWA and the Chairman of the Board is the Secretary of DMW, the Vice Chair is the OWWA Administrator,” Caunan said.
“So the regular process or what is expected is that purchases should go through the Board of Trustees,” she added./PN
