Enrile, minority bloc invoke GAA in bid to clear air of ‘pork’ issue

Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate minority group headed by Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile insisted that the transfer of the legislators’ “pork barrel” funds to non-government organizations (NGOs) has “legal basis” and that the responsibility to ascertain whether or not the NGOs are legitimate falls on the implementing agencies and local government units (LGUs) and not on legislators.

The opposition bloc is composed of Enrile, Senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Gregorio Honasan, Vicente Sotto III, JV Ejercito and Nancy Binay and three of them – Enrile, Honasan and Estrada – were being linked to the P10-billion “pork barrel” scam.

In a statement, the group rejected a Commission on Audit’s report that the transfer of legislators’ priority development fund (PDAF) known as pork barrel funds was “without legal basis.”

“The Senate minority group, however, wishes to point out that the COA Report is wrong,” said the group.

They pointed out that the General Appropriations Acts (GAAs) of previous years and even the GAA of the current year contained provisions allowing for the transfer of funds to civil society organizations, non-government organizations, and people’s organizations, subject to certain conditions.

“The practice of allowing NGOs to participate in the implementation of government projects was first introduced in 2007, when a special provision in the  budget of the Department of Education was inserted to ‘encourage the participation of non-government organizations (NGOs) in the construction of school buildings…’” they said.

Subsequently, they said, the 2009 GAA provided for a specific provision, which states that no NGOs and people’s organization will be allowed to participate in the implementation of any program or project of  the national and local government units “until such time that any earlier fund releases availed of by the said non-government organizations and people’s organizations shall have been fully liquidated pursuant to pertaining accounting and auditing rules and regulations, as certified by the head of the agency concerned and the Commission on Audit auditor.”

The same provision, they said, states that “The government agency and local government units shall ensure that the non-government organizations and people’s organizations that they deal with are legitimate…”

“The above-mentioned provisions clearly support our stand that:  first, the transfer of funds to NGOs does have legal basis; and second, that it is not the responsibility of the legislators to ascertain the legitimacy of the NGOs which the IAs (implementing agencies) work with in the implementation of our projects.  That burden falls on the IAs and the local government units concerned as provided by law,” Enrile’s group said.

The 2013 GAA, they said, even amended this rule as it now requires the liquidation of at least 70% of the latest fund transfer availed of by the NGOs, before additional fund transfers are made.

“Precisely, the provisions of the budget law have already established the parameters within which our PDAF must be implemented by the concerned government agencies.  Unfortunately, however, these guidelines and standards were evidently not followed,” they said.

“It is even more unfortunate that members of the Senate minority group have been pilloried and scorned by the media and by the public for this lapse in the implementation of the law,”  they added.