Puentevella belies Basoc fund misuse anew
BACOLOD CITY — Bacolod Lone District Representative Monico Puenevella recently dismissed as outright lies the recent allegation hurled by the Save Bacolod Movement (SBM), an organization led by Romy Niere, that the then Bacolod SEA Games Organizing Committee (Basoc) received P60.5 million from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Puentevella also laughed off claims by the SBM that there was another P10 million check which he deposited in his account, on top of the P60.5 million financial grant extended by the national government through the PSC during the game’s 23rd edition slated from Nov. 19 to Dec. 5, 2005.
Puentevella believed that the hastily-called press conference held last week by SBM was a clear act of desperation to again malign him.
“The malicious minds behind the SBM often concoct grandiose allegations to suit their own ends and it falls once again to this representation to shatter these imaginary charges and in the process, hope to impart upon these people basic analytical skills,” the solon said.
Earlier, the SBM presented in a press conference a Land Bank check no. 0000251454, dated Sept. 15, 2005, which Niere told the media as the fifth check for Basoc, which he added the solon deposited in his own account. The said fifth check, paid to Basoc and/or Philippine Sports Commission was signed by former PSC Chairman William Ramirez and Commissioner Jose Mundo with an explanatory note “In refund to NSDF Account the assistance released to Basoc that was charged against the NSDF”.
The other four tranches of financial assistance issued by the PSC to Basoc during the SEA games were three LBP checks dated July 28, 2008 (P10.5 million), August 12, 2005 (P20 million) and Nov. 18, 2005 (P10 million) and a PNB check, dated August 26, 2005, amounting to another P10 million, totaling to P50.5 million the financial assistance given by the national government to Basoc.
Puentevella also emphasized that the three Land Bank checks were sourced out from the PSC’s General Fund while the PNB check was PSC’s National Sports Development from PAGCOR, which Niere in his presscon made it appear as a distinct fund source other than the PSC that gave Basoc funds for the SEA Games.
He also said that this is a clear case of manipulation, or an apparent shallow understanding or lack of it that he (Niere) mistook and misrepresented the Sept. 21 LBP check as one that Basoc also received on top of the four earlier checks.