By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA — Sen. Miriam Defensor–Santiago is seeking an investigation on the whereabouts of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) funds not indicated in the Philippine Postal Corp.’s (PHLPost) liquidation report this year.
A total of P4.94 billion in CCT funds appeared to be missing from PHLPost’s liquidation report, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).
“Our public funds keep ending up either stolen or misused,” Santiago said.
This year’s total unliquidated advances, COA disclosed, were “1,000 percent” more than PHLPost’s unliquidated balance two years ago.
The state-owned mail delivery office is one of the monetary conduits for the CCT program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“I aim to rise from my sickbed when budget deliberations in the Senate come,” said Santiago, who is currently battling lung cancer. “I will not let this corruption pass without heads rolling.”
Citing news items, Santiago said the amount was supposed to be distributed to CCT program beneficiaries in nearly 10,000 municipalities nationwide.
“These monetary conduits should be investigated for their failure in executing one of the administration’s flagship programs,” she said. “I would not be surprised if PHLPost is not the only monetary conduit at fault.”
Santiago, a former regional trial court judge, said she cannot understand why the government keeps on increasing the CCT program’s budget if DSWD, the implementing agency, is “complicit with the abuse of these public funds.”
Santiago also criticized those who make President Benigno Aquino III believe that the program is effective in combating poverty.
Other PHLPost-related issues the senator from Iloilo City wants to investigate are:
- approval of P1.1 million in excess per diems for committee meetings
- increase of the postmaster general and her assistant’s salary by P1.68 million without the President’s approval
- unauthorized payment of P1.6 million performance-based incentive to its directors; and
- P1.8 million in illegal subsidies to car loans of officers and directors, among others./PN
