Possible misuse of P8-B typhoon rehab fund feared
A militant fisherfolk alliance has raised concern over the possible misuse of the P8-billion rehabilitation fund for areas in Western Visayas ravaged by typhoon Frank.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the fund could be used by allies of President Macapagal-Arroyo for the 2010 elections if the plan to amend the Constitution fails.
"The sum of all our fears is that allies of (the President) might exploit the P8-billion alloted for victims of typhoon Frank in Western Visayas for electoral grandstanding in case the proposed Charter Change and term extension of all incumbent officials fail at the political box-office," Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
Hicap said the removal of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez as head of a proposed commission to manage the P8-billion rehabilitation fund "does not assure that the money is in safe hands because Malacañang and its allies will still have control over the funds."
"P8 billion is P8 billion and you cannot entrust this rehabilitation fund to political lieutenants of President Arroyo given the exemplary track record of her administration in the field of bureaucratic corruption," warned Hicap.
The House committee on appropriation last week amended the bill creating the commission and overhauled the composition of the body amid protest over the designation of Gonzalez as head of the body.
Under House Bill 4824 , the commission will be headed by the chair of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), who is currently Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.
The other members of the commission are the secretaries of the Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, administrator of the National Electrification Administration and general manager of the National Housing Authority.
Other members include the Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas (Raul Banias) and the chair of the Regional Development Council (Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez). Gonzalez will still be a member as Cabinet Officer for Regional Development (CORD) of Western Visayas.
The bill allocates P8 billion to finance the reconstruction and the rehabilitation of the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental, and the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod which suffered heavy damages after the typhoon triggered the worst flooding in the region in recent years.
Hicap said a parallel monitoring watchdog should be established in Western Visayas to ensure transparency and accountability of the funds.
He said they do not want a repeat of the alleged P728-million fertilizer scam which involved the purported diversion of the fertilizer fund to President Macapagal-Arroyo's campaign in 2004.
He said politicians identified with Malacañang or known supporters of the President should be excluded from from the commission to avoid any misuse of the fund.
He said anti-corruption watchdogs, cause-oriented groups, including anti-Arroyo politicians in Western Visayas should band together and monitor the distribution and implementation of the commission's projects
"They have to be very, very vigilant here. Election period unofficially begins in 2009 and Mrs. Arroyo's allies in the region are hell bent in maximizing these funds for their electoral stints in 2010," said Hicap.