Santiago F. Dumlao Jr. l November 27, 2024 l Business Mirror
WE have seen, heard and read enough.
The direct testimonies on oath of invited resource persons, collaborating testimonies and documents presented to and obtained by the Quad Committee of the House of Representatives have produced a collection of credible evidence: there have been irregular, improper and/or illegal uses or disbursements of the confidential funds entrusted to the Office of the Vice President and Secretary of Education, both positions held by the Vice President at the time of commission.
Those among us who have been following the lengthy congressional proceedings have seen and heard the improbable disbursement of 125 million pesos in just 11 days in December 2022 and the withdrawal of large amounts of funds from the bank in a day and placed in duffle bags for destinations nowhere. They have seen and heard: supporting disbursements with spurious acknowledgement receipts signed by unknown or questionable or unauthenticated recipients; excessive overpricing claims for the rentals of so-called safe houses; and, several other misinformation and misdeclarations and misappropriations that the Commission on Audit has called out.
We all know all this and we give credit to the Quad Committee for doing a good job of investigative inquiry. And our big thanks to the full coverage of the media providing full service to the public real time.
The waste of funds is atrocious. The abuse of power scandalous. The display of impunity so callous.
Beyond this gem of a bad example by the Vice President, we can confidently be sure that our humongous national budget contains more wasteful appropriations directed by political patronage rather than anything else, i.e. “pork barrel,” legitimized by legislation into DPWH projects.
Just a few days ago the Vice President has openly threatened to assassinate the President and First Lady and the Speaker of the House “if” …a very serious public pronouncement that has grabbed the headlines, big news indeed to camouflage and push aside from our attention the series of bad reports of the Vice President’s obstinate refusal to account for her alleged misuse of significant confidential funds.
I mourn for my country, the Philippines.
*** The views and opinions expressed above are those of Santiago F. Dumlao Jr. and do not necessarily represent the views of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines and the BusinessMirror. Photo from Pinterest.