Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—In October last year, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) launched an investigation of the special allotment release orders (Saros) issued in Cagayan Valley worth P161 million and in Western Visayas worth P77 million.
A Saro is a document issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that allows the release of lump-sum funds, such as those from a senator’s or a congressman’s pork barrel allotment, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
The release of a Saro paves the way for the issuance of a notice of cash allocation (NCA) which in turn triggers the release of the funds.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that on Oct. 22, one of the directors in the office in charge of agriculture got a call from the regional field unit office of the Department of Agriculture (DA), inquiring about the originals of Saros involving farm-to-market roads in Cagayan Valley.
A Saro for P161 million was hand-carried by Enrico Arao, an aide of Cagayan Rep. Baby Aline Vargas-Alfonso, to the Cagayan Valley office of the DA in October. It turned out to be fake.
“So when the director in charge inquired from the office of then Assistant Secretary Luz Cantor in our office, she was told that the Saros were still with her and, in fact, they had not been signed,” Abad recalled.
“When I learned about it we got all the documents and looked at the so-called signed Saros, and concluded very clearly that these were forgeries because we had the originals, which were not signed and had not been released,” he said.
The following day, Oct. 23, he wrote lawyer Medardo G. de Lemos, the NBI officer in charge, requesting an investigation.
The DBM also quickly canceled 12 Saros covering P875 million worth of farm-to-market projects, the funds for which have not yet been released nor signed by the authorized signatory, then Assistant Secretary Luz Cantor.
On Nov. 25, President Aquino confirmed that the NBI was looking into another instance where “enterprising souls” attempted to work on the release of dubious Saros from the DBM for farm-to-market road projects.
On Dec. 5, Inquirer reported that two members of a syndicate engaged in producing photocopies of Saros were connected with the office of Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos.
On Dec. 27, the NBI pinpointed some of the members of the “Saro Gang” alleged to be responsible for the photocopying of original Saros to secure the release of congressional pork barrel funds for public projects.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the NBI would try its best to submit a report on the Saro investigation by the end of January.
Source: Inquirer Archives