Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said the Philippine International Trading Center (PITC) should return to the government the public funds totaling P33.4-billion parked in the agency so it can use the funds for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and other social programs.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Drilon said he believes the government can utilize the public funds parked in the PITC since it needs a huge amount to finance the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, to address the country’s 6.5 million housing backlog, feed 5.5 million hungry Filipinos and or support the 4.6 million unemployed Filipinos.
“Huwag na po tayong umutang. Isoli na lang po ng PITC ang P33.4-billion. (The government should stop borrowing. PITC should just return the P33.4-billion),” Drilon said in his privilege speech during the Senate plenary session.
The senator noted that it appears that government agencies are using the PITC to skirt end-of-the year validity appropriations, thus, the funds are obligated before the appropriation expires.
“We all know, Mr. President, that if agencies are unable to obligate and disburse the funds themselves, the appropriation will lapse and the funds will revert to the National Treasury,” he said.
“And that will negatively affect their absorptive capacity, and can be used by the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to reduce their appropriation in the next budget cycle,” the minority leader added.
He said PITC effectively provides a convenient mechanism to hide inefficiencies in government.
“I believe that this practice of improper, or shall I add dishonest, handling of public funds has become a bad habit in government,” he lamented.
Drilon said the practice of skirting end-of-the year validity of appropriations is a violation of Section 10 of the General Provisions of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) as it mandates reversion of funds when the terms have expired or when they are no longer necessary to complete the purposes for which the funds were established.
He said this could be the reason behind the agency’s growth in consumer deposits in a span of five years—from only 4.8-billion in 2015 to P33.4-billion in 2019.
According to Drilon, sources told him some agencies turn to PITC to avoid procurement-related liabilities. For any procurement done through the agency, the mother agency, or source agency, would not be liable for the bid as it is not the head of the procuring entity, but the PITC.
“Kung may problema man sa bidding, labas na ang ahensya, (If there is a problem with the bidding, the agency is off the hook),” he noted.
Thus, Drilon said, it is imperative that the Senate conducts an inquiry in aid of legislation and check for possible reforms in the government’s procurement process.
“We need to direct and compel these government agencies to take back their money and for PITC to immediately revert to the government coffers the P33.4-billion,” he said.
“We must review the charter of PITC…I call on my colleagues: together, let us look at possible reforms in the government procurement processes,” Drilon stressed.