Drilon: PITC execs liable for graft, malversation

Top officials of the beleaguered Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) may face graft and malversation charges for “devious and shady schemes” that have allowed government agencies to “park” billions in taxpayer money in the state-run trading company to dodge budgeting and procurement laws, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Friday.

Drilon, who exposed the parking of P33 billion in public funds now idling in the PITC’s bank accounts, called out its chair, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, for “turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to a practice that is legally and morally wrong.”

“The PITC management may be held liable for technical malversation for using the funds of the agencies for a different purpose from which these were originally appropriated by law,” Drilon warned Lopez, who defended the PITC’s performance and the regularity of its transactions.

PITC officials may also be penalized under Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for entering into transactions that are grossly disadvantageous to the government and for refusing to return the unused balances of fund transfers from its client agencies, the senator added.

Drilon issued the statement after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III assured him that he and Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado would recommend to President Duterte the return of the PITC funds to the national treasury.

DOF response

On Thursday, the senator said Dominguez personally called to inform him of the response of the Department of Finance’s (DOF) to his findings.

In a privilege speech on Tuesday, Drilon said P33 billion in public funds was parked in the PITC accounts, enabling agencies to skirt laws on government budgeting.

That prompted Sen. Francis Pangilinan to ask Mr. Duterte to issue an executive order for the return of the P33 billion to the national coffers. He said that part of the money could be used for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.

While he welcomed the DOF’s move, Drilon expressed disappointment at Lopez for continuing to defend the PITC, which was tasked with procuring coronavirus vaccines despite its dubious track record.

“In the face of the recommendation of the finance and budget secretaries, the continued defense of Secretary Lopez of the PITC reminds us of the saying ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,’” Drilon said.

As PITC chair, Lopez “has taken no steps to revert over P33- billion parked funds to the national coffers,” he said.

Drilon, a former justice secretary, warned Lopez that the PITC’s current practices could be a violation of the antigraft law.

He reminded the PITC to heed the call and warning of the Commission on Audit (COA) to “stop the practice of utilizing the unused balances from completed projects for other purposes, unless authorized in accordance with the provisions of the General Appropriations Act.”

‘Return unused balances’

The COA, in its 2019 audit report on PITC, said it should “revert to the source agencies or general fund the unutilized fund transfers.”

It also admonished the DTI-attached company “to return the unused balances of fund transfers for completed projects” and to “stop the practice of utilizing the unused balances from the completed projects for other purposes.”

Lopez, however, reiterated that they have the necessary documents to show that all funds pending with the PITC were either ongoing procurement or were already awarded.

“We don’t tolerate corruption. Never. PITC has a mandate that it is implementing to the best of its ability, and it has instituted reforms, under this administration, precisely to address those concerns,” he said in a Viber message on Friday. —With a report from Roy Stephen C. Canivel