Join crusade against corruption

MANILA, Philippines – This has reference to the column of Mr. Jarius Bondoc (Gotcha) entitled “How the budget racket operates” which appeared in the July 30 issue of The Philippine STAR.

In his article, Mr. Bondoc disclosed alleged corrupt practices in the release of funds involving DPWH projects and the involvement of “an influence-peddling lawyer at the DBM” and “long-time DBM officials who either corrupt or run circles around the secretaries.” He also cited Secretary Singson’s conclusion that more than in the bidding process, the bigger leakage apparently occurs in project identification.

We, in the Department of Budget and Management, welcome Mr. Bondoc’s disclosure of alleged corrupt practices. In fact, we would appreciate it if he could provide names of those DBM officials involved and show proof that they are truly involved in the unscrupulous act. It is easy to point an accusing finger on anyone, but we need solid evidence to establish guilt if indeed there is any, and to prosecute those found guilty. We therefore urge Mr. Bondoc to coordinate with the Department, through the following contact number: 4901046.

Time and again, our attention has been called to the existence of unscrupulous people claiming to be connected with the DBM to victimize those who have transactions with government. And for several times, we have published advertisements in newspapers (national and regional) and even posted warnings in the DBM website to caution the public including contractors against fixers and dubious individuals who pose as “middle men” to facilitate fund releases.

In the case of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly known as the pork barrel, we wish to inform the public that under existing policies and procedures, the DBM has no handle on the identification of projects to be funded therefrom. Projects are identified by the proponent legislators and endorsed by the Chairman of the Finance Committee for the Senate or the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee for the House of Representatives. While the policy of the current administration is to pursue the PDAF, we will devise more stringent rules and limited menus in the use of the fund for the 2011 budget to ensure consistency with the priority programs of the administration and minimize corruption. The DBM is also proposing to require implementing agencies to publish in their websites the status of project implementation and fund utilization.

Under the current administration which puts paramount importance to transparency and accountability in government operations, the DBM is initiating efforts to draw up the mechanics on how to engage civil society organizations, the academe and other think tanks in making the budget process more transparent as well as to help in the monitoring of government programs and projects, particularly the pork barrel funds of legislators.

We encourage members of the media such as Mr. Bondoc, and the public to join us in this crusade. –Laura B. Pascua, DBM Undersecretary (philstar.com)