NGO clarifies P210M fund misuse raps

An emotional Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda yesterday denied the charges filed against her by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for allegedly falsifying documents to hide the misuse of at least P210 million ($5 million) in funds donated to the Visayas Forum Foundation, Inc., a nongovernment organization she founded in 1991.

The VFFI president said she was “shocked by the malicious attack” on the NGO that she had “built for 20 years with blood, sweat and tears,” but vowed to “continue to provide services for victims of exploitation and human trafficking” (and allow) “our body of work to speak for itself.”

The USAID asked the National Bureau of Investigation in August to probe the foundation over funds for the group’s projects that it said were missing.

“We have recommended to the Department of Justice the filing of charges of falsification of documents. More serious charges could follow,” said NBI antigraft chief Rachel Marfil-Angeles.

Angeles said the findings were backed by external auditors hired by USAID, which checked disbursements to the foundation covering the period 2005 to 2011.

The foundation, considered the leading Philippine group in the fight against human trafficking, had also received financial support from international companies Starbucks and Microsoft.

Its founder has been tapped as an adviser to the Philippine government as it seeks removal from an international watchlist where human trafficking remains rampant.

Angeles said the NBI has asked the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking for records pertaining to VFFI, including those of the group’s beneficiaries.

“The auditor in her initial findings said there were indications of lack of beneficiaries and discrepancy in records submitted to other government agencies,” the NBI anti-graft head said, adding that the result of one audit showed that the VFFI had listed 100 victims rescued, while the DSWD record only showed 30.

The VFFI, Angeles said, is a member of the IACAT whose members also include Vice-President Jejomar Binay and the NBI.

Oebanda said she felt betrayed by the action of the US development agency, a partner of the VFFI in its anti-human trafficking campaign, but promised to clear the foundation’s name in court.

In a phone interview yesterday, Oebanda said the VFFI was a USAID partner for more than six years but funding was suspended without prior discussion three weeks ago. She added that she received a letter from USAID officials saying that their funding was suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.

Oebanda also clarified that what was being audited was USAID funding worth P97 million, not P210 million, which the VFFI received from 2005 to 2011.

Oebanda said she was thinking of returning the awards given her by the US for her pioneering work. /INQUIRER