Escudero seeks audit of Apec expenses

To foster transparency and accountability in government, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he would seek an accounting of the P10 billion the government set aside for its hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings this year.

Escudero said he would like to know, for instance, if the government spent for the luxury vehicles provided to leaders and senior officials who attended the Apec meetings.

“Halimbawa, gusto kong malaman kung yung mga BMWs ba or Mercedes Benz at HiAce, tayo ba ang gumastos dun? Dinonate ba yun ng mga kumpanya o binenta bang segunda-manong mas mura? O magkano ba ang binigay natin sa kanila para gawin yun?” said the senator, former chair of the Senate committee on finance.

(For one, I would like to know whether we spent for the BMWs or the Mercedez Benzes and HiAce vans. Were those donated by companies or sold secondhand for a lower price? Or how much were they afforded to do that? )

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Toyota Motor Philippines reportedly pledged to provide 483 vehicles—Altis, Fortuner and HiAce—with drivers for the Apec Senior Officials’ Meetings, private sector-related meetings, and the CEO Summit while BMW provided more than 200 units of BMW 7 Series Long-Wheelbase Sedan, BMW 5 Series Sedan and Gran Turismo for the ministers and heads of state during the Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov. 18 and 19. Mercedes Benz was also an Apec mobility partner.

Escudero said he would ask for a breakdown of the government’s expenses for the Apec and the arrangements made with private sector partners when budget hearings resume.

“Let’s review what has been done, what was spent, and see the cost-benefit, if it’s worth it,” he said when asked during a recent a roundtable discussion if he thinks the benefits that would be gained from hosting the trade summit were worth it.

“After the fact, that’s when we will see where the P10 billion went,” he said. “I think the government might have spent more than P10 billion but this was not all charged to the Apec expenditure.”

Escudero said there have been allocations for the Apec in the years prior to 2015, most of which went to building and fixing infrastructure in Iloilo, where meetings and dialogues between Apec member economies have been held since July.

“Bubusisiin namin kung sapat ba o hindi, kung sobra ba yung P10 billion (We shall scrutinize whether the P10 billion allocation was sufficient.). The answers will come after the Apec,” he said.

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The senator said it would be hard to assess whether the resources spent by the Philippine government for the Apec summit would translate to economic gains.

“What’s obvious now is that the event is a huge encumbrance on ordinary Filipinos who have had to suffer through even more monstrous traffic caused by closed roads. Flights were also canceled,” he said.

Despite the inconvenience, Escudero said, the government was right in not turning down the opportunity to be this year’s host.

“Dapat maintindihan ng lahat na hindi tayo nag-volunteer mag-host. Rotation ito at dumating yung turn natin sa taong ito. Hindi naman siguro dapat i-turn down ng bansa iyon,” he said.

(We must understand that [the Philippines] did not volunteer to host [the Apec]. [Member countries take turns in hosting] and this year was our turn. The supposed host should not turn down the opportunity, I suppose.)

“In any case, we should already start planning for the hosting of the next Apec meetings 18 years ahead of time in order to avoid the hassles and inconveniences that this one has caused,” the senator added. CDG