Former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and Mayor Benhur Abalos File Photo
Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos on Thursday said all transactions he entered into when he was representative of the city in the House were “regular,” contrary to what was stated in a special audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA).
Former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman also disputed the COA report that he earmarked P130 million in pork for Tabaco City and that no vouchers or postings covered the transactions for various projects.
In an interview with the Inquirer, Abalos said he had documents—business permits of suppliers as proof that they existed, and receipts, among other papers—to prove the legality of all the transactions Mandaluyong entered into when he was congressman from 2004 to 2007.
The COA report that counted Abalos among the senators and representatives who released their allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, to local governments in violation of state procurement rules covered the years 2007 to 2009.
Apart from Abalos, who, according to the report, used P19.999 million of his pork in “flawed transactions,” Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales Jr. (P256.381 million), former Speaker Prospero Nograles (P47.325 million), and former An Waray Rep. Florencio G. Noel (P23.944 million) channeled a part of their pork barrel through Mandaluyong in “deficient” transactions.
Overall, including pork funneled through other local governments, including Taguig and Las Piñas, the COA said at least P1.289 billion in pork was released during those years in violation of state procurement rules.
Documentary evidence
Asked for copies of his documentary evidence, Abalos refused, saying the papers were not yet complete.
He said he was having a hard time producing some of the documents because his former right-hand man, a certain Jun Torres, who handled the papers was already dead.
Torres, who worked for Abalos for least 16 years, was shot dead by a lone assailant on Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong in February 2011.
“But I have already asked my staff to look for some of the suppliers in 2007,” Abalos said.
He said he would release all the documents at “the soonest possible time.”
Asked where the funds had been spent, Abalos said: “I cannot detail them since it was so long ago. I cannot recall.”
But when pressed, he said some of the money went to “soft projects,” such as financial assistance to constituents, and seminars.
“As a congressman, I can fully account for (the funds),” he said.
Deserving beneficiary
Lagman, a former House minority leader, said in a statement that Tabaco City was not a pork conduit but a “deserving beneficiary of much-needed government funding support.”
Much of the funds for projects to improve the city came from the Congressional Initiative Allowance and the Congressional Leadership Fund, which ranking officers of the House of Representatives can access and which are provided for separately in the national budget, Lagman said.
Former Sen. Francis Pangilinan maintained that his pork allocations were all aboveboard.
“We did not participate in any PDAF scam whether it be bogus Napoles NGOs or with [local governments] and we welcome any investigation that will pin down the culprits. We have nothing to hide,” Pangilinan said in a text message.
Pangilinan was tagged by the COA for giving P2 million of his pork to barangay projects in Quezon City that also did not go through competitive bidding or submitted vouchers.
Papers complete
Lagman said the Tabaco projects were “completely covered by requisite vouchers and postings for public bidding purposes and the COA regional office in Bicol had been given copies or access to the vouchers and postings.”
Lagman urged the COA to make a “clear distinction between [irregular] releases that end up in fictitious NGOs and those that directly benefited constituents in cities, municipalities and barangays.” With reports from Leila B. Salaverria and Gil C. Cabacungan