Youth group files plunder raps vs Alcala

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A youth group on Wednesday filed plunder complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala for his alleged involvement in the misuse of over P60-million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

In a 13-page complaint-affidavit, members of the Youth Act now! said Alcala’s involvement was due to the “misuse of P36.25 million PDAF through its transfer to the NGO Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation, Inc.” during his term as Quezon representative and the “transfer of P39 million public funds to Janet Lim Napoles and her NGOs” during his term as agriculture chief.

“In the past days, we have witnessed the initial criminal proceedings against senators involved in the pork barrel scam. Yet the Palace – or any of its instrumentality for that matter – has yet to charge any high-ranking Cabinet official involved in the pork barrel scam,” Youth Act Now convenor Victor Villanueva said.

Based on their complaint, when he was a lawmaker Alcala transferred funds to the NGO Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation Inc. (ECOSOC) worth P35 million.

The project, the complainant said, citing a report from the Commission on Audit (COA), were not fully liquidated. The supposed recipients denied confirming any assistance from ECOSOC, while the other supposed beneficiaries are unknown at their given addresses.

Then, as head of the Agriculture Department, Alcala admitted that of the P83 million for the Napoles group passed through the department but P44 million had not been released.

“Simply put, during his term as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, public funds in the amount of Thirty-Nine Million Pesos were lost and funneled to Janet Lim Napoles and her NGOs,” the complaint stated.

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