Aquino orders probe of P515M pork

President Benigno Aquino III: Thorough report. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III has ordered an investigation into the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) that more than P500 million in pork barrel funds went to questionable nongovernment organizations through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), an agency under the Office of the President.

Aquino on Monday said he had instructed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to provide him with “a thorough report on this particular issue.”

“I told them I need it as soon as possible and I want it as thorough and as complete and as correct as possible,” he told reporters in an interview in Malacañang.

The President admitted the NCMF had been used for the implementation of projects funded through the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers, popularly known as pork barrel.

“To be perfectly candid about it, there are so many functions embodied in their charter which I reviewed today, and I was not clearly aware or immediately aware that they were a conduit or an implementing agency for various PDAF projects,” he said of the commission.

Based on the COA findings, more than P514 million was allegedly coursed through the NCMF in 2012, or two years after Aquino took office.

Of the amount, P25 million was allegedly made available through the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), whose constitutionality is being questioned in the Supreme Court.

The President said he was still seeking “clarification” if the information was based on a COA “finding” or an “observation audit moratorium.” He said the latter “means that there are certain questions and they await answers or replies from the government entity concerned.”

“The second step is, even before we get their answer, I want [to know] exactly what went to whom, and why it was coursed through the NCMF,” he said.