MANILA, Philippines – Nanawagan si House Deputy Minority leader at ACT Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro sa Commission on Audit (COA) na masusing imbestigahan ang paggastos ng P2.697 billion Davao City confidential funds.
Ang nasabing confidential funds ay ginugol sa loob ng anim na taon sa panahon ng panunungkulan ni Vice President Sara Duterte bilang alkalde sa lungsod, ayon sa pahayag ng ACT Teachers Partylist noong Sabado.
“Siya [Rep. Nanawagan si Castro] sa Commission on Audit (COA) na masusing imbestigahan kung ang paggastos na ito ay talagang nasa ilalim ng mga alituntuning itinakda ng COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2015-01,” anang partylist.
Ang nasabing Joint Circular No. 2015-01 ay COA at ang Department of Budget Management’s guidelines sa entitlement, release, use, reporting, at audit ng confidential at/o intelligence funds.
Kung matutuklasan man—na hindi nagamit ng maayos ang pondo, sinabi ni Castro na dapat ibalik ang pera, at dapat na magsampa ng kaukulang kaso.
“This would mean P1.235 million a day of secret spending for 6 years, this is way bigger than even the richest cities in the country like Makati City and Quezon City,” giit pa ng mambabatas.
Ipinunto rin ni Castro ang posibleng koneksyon sa pagitan ng confidential funds ng Davao City at sa kasalukuyang pagnanais ng Office of the Vice President na magkaroon ng ganoon sa kanilang opisina.
“Perhaps this is why Vice President Sara Duterte is so eager to have a confidential fund in her national office, as she may have become accustomed to such a practice during her time as mayor of Davao,” aniya pa.
“We cannot tolerate any misuse or abuse of public funds, especially large amounts allocated for confidential purposes. We must hold our public officials accountable and ensure that transparency and integrity prevail in our governance.” RNT
