The government maintains the right to investigate the financial transactions of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) with any government agency in so far as it involves the use of public funds, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said.
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Go, Duterte's trusted aide, said President Duterte has the right to request a probe on the expenditures of the organization, including the execution of a multi-million peso Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between the PRC and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) at the start of the pandemic for COVID-19 testing.
Duterte is the honorary president of the PRC, he pointed out.
“Tignan na lang po, pakisilip na lang po, kung ano ang nakalagay sa batas sa Philippine Red Cross (Please look into what the law says about the Philippine Red Cross): at the end of every calendar year, submit to the President of the Philippines, an annual report containing its activities and showing its financial condition. Kasi may mga pondo rin sa Red Cross na mula rin po sa mga government funds nanggagaling. At mayroon din pong gastos ang Red Cross na mula rin po o galing sa Philhealth (There are also funds with the Red Cross that came from the government funds. And some of the Red Cross expenses came from PhilHealth),” Go said in an interview on Saturday, September 4.
“Ibig sabihin nito may pondo pa rin ito na mula gobyerno (This means that there are funds that came from the government. Ang dapat ay i-account rin po kung ano po 'yung mga pondong mula sa gobyerno (This has to be accounted for to determine what funds that came from the government.. Ang amin lang po dito, ano po 'yung totoo at in fairness po sa lahat ng nagtatrabaho (We want the truth to be fair with all those who are working),” he added.
Duterte wanted the Commission on Audit (COA) to look into how the PRC spend its funds. The COA confirmed that it has no jurisdiction over the non-government humanitarian organization, and may only audit the payments made the PhilHealth to the PRC.
Earlier, Go slammed PRC chairman and Senator Richard Gordon for linking him to the alleged anomalies in the Department of Health's (DOH) procurement of COVID-19 supplies through the Department of Budget and Management's Procurement Service (DBM-PS).
He wanted Gordon to inhibit from any investigations concerning the PhilHealth due to "conflict of interest".
“Nasa sa kanya na ‘yon kung bibitawan niya. Personal na desisyon niya ‘yan (In depends solely on him if he will leave. That is his personal decision). Ang nasabi ko lang naman baka maaaring mayroong conflict of interest dahil it is common knowledge that the Chairman of Blue Ribbon Committee is also the Chairman of Philippine Red Cross ... Tapos ngayon, imbestigahan mo 'yung PhilHealth ... So, may mga katanungan lang na baka magkaroon ng conflict of interest (What I am saying, it is possible that there is a conflict of interest because it is common knowledge that the Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee is also the Chairman of Philippine Red Cross ... And now, he is investigating PhilHealth...So, there are questions of the possibility of having conflict of interest) ,” he explained in the interview.
Still, he reiterated his "deep respect" for Gordon and his other colleagues in the Senate.
“Wala naman akong problema kay Senator Gordon (I have no problem with Senator Gordon). Sabi ko naman na mataas ang respeto ko sa kanya. Ang hinihingi ko lang naman sa privilege speech ay ganoong respeto rin ang ibigay sa akin, bilang isang senador (As I have said, I have a high respect for him. In my privilege speech, I was only asking to have the same respect as a senator). Kung ano ang ibinigay na pagkakataon sa iba na makapagsalita, ganon rin sana sa akin. Ituring lang din ako isang senador tulad ng iba (If others are given the chance to talk. I also deserve the same treatment. Just treat me as a senator just like the other) ,” he said.
He maintained that he is ready and willing to work with his colleagues to get to the bottom of the issues surrounding the use of COVID-19 funds.
“I will actively participate as I have always been doing (Especially that the primary issue here is the utilization of funds for COVID-19 response). Lalung-lalo na ang pangunahing usapan dito ay paggamit ng pondo for COVID-19 response (Particularly when the pressing issue is how the COVID-19 response funds were used). Bilang chairman ng Senate Committee on Health, interes ko na masiguradong magagamit ng tama ang pondo ng taumbayan at maayos ang dapat ayusin dahil nasa gitna tayo ng pandemya (As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, it is my interest to ensure that public funds are properly utilized and the problems are addressed as we are in the middle of a pandemic,... especially in times of crisis, every single peso counts,” he stressed.
“Iisa ang aming layunin dito, ang sugpuin ang korapsyon (We have a common intention, to fight corruption) Sabi ko naman sa kanya (Gordon) labanan natin ang korapsyon (I told him {Gordon} that together we will fight corruption). Isa tayo sa paglaban kontra korapsyon (We are one in fighting corruption). Kapag may mali naman magsasalita ako (If something is wrong, I will talk). Hindi ako natatakot na magsalita ... Inihalal din ako ng taumbayan, pareho lang kami na gagawin ang aming trabaho (I am not afraid to talk...I was also elected by the people, we are both determined to perform our jobs) ” he continued.