‘NGOs’ abuse P751 M in social work PDAF

MANILA, Philippines – Dubious non-governmental organizations siphoning lawmakers’ pork barrel and misusing them extended their reach to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The recently released Commission on Audit (COA) report on the 2007-2009 PDAF releases showed that P751 million of pork barrel that went through the social welfare department was misused by organizations outside of government.

The amount in question was released to at least 20 NGOs. Most of them had dubious backgrounds, doubtful documents, questionable projects, and unverifiable beneficiaries.

Only one, the Philippine Red Cross, was a legitimate organization. It was taken to task for failing to liquidate P21 million of the P52 million it got, but auditors noted the liquidation was about to be completed.

Its shortcoming appeared light compared to the irregularities that COA said the 19 dubious NGOs committed.

The special PDAF audit conducted by COA covered only the last 3 years of the past administration. It was limited to P41 billion of the P115 billion actual pork barrel releases during that period.

Covering only the Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the DSWD, the special audit found that the way 82 NGOs utilized the P6.156 billion in pork barrel they got from these agencies “was not proper and highly irregular.”

Those which were found to have misused PDAF coursed through DSWD were:

NGO	Amount
Community Resource Center	P35.5 million
CPEF Caring Foundation Inc.	P40.5 million
Distrito 2 Mahal Ko Foundation Inc.	P36.993 million
Dynamic Filipino Citizen Civic Organization Inc.	P98 million
ECOSOC	P36.025 million
Gintong Pakpak Foundation	P32.4 million
Golden Palmdale Foundation Inc.	P15 million
Jose Alvarado Foundation Inc.	P12.9 million
Kabaka Foundation Inc.	P21.74 million
Kalusugan ng Bata, Karunungan ng Bayan Inc.	P14 million
Nueva Ecija 4 Inc.	P33.13 million
Pamamalakaya Foundation Inc.	P20 million
Read Foundation Inc.	P81.55 million
Todo Foundation Inc.	P10.736 million
Tondo Manila Community Foundation Inc.	P16.5 million
Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Inc.	P11.131 million
Hand-Made Living Foundation Inc.	P13.076 million
Unlad Pinoy Organization	P36.3 million
Philippine National Red Cross	P52.1 million
Kalookan Assistance Council Inc.	P133.6 million
TOTAL	P751.181 million

Significant findings

Fifty-five lawmakers funneled their PDAF to these 20 NGOs.

Of these organizations, only 7 had multiple patrons; the rest had one lawmaker patron each.

Kalookan  Assistance Council  Inc got the biggest chunk of misused PDAF – a total of P133.6 million from the pork barrel of 10 House members and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile (who gave P10 million).

Enrile and Malabon-Navotas Rep Alvin Sandoval, “confirmed authenticity of [their] signature submitted by the NGO.

Then-Senator Edgardo Angara poured P95.55 million of his pork to only 2 NGOs: Read Foundation and Kalusugan ng Bata, Karunungan ng Bayan Inc. (KBKBI).

He is incorporator/stockholder of KBKBI.

The two NGOs had the same address. However, Read Foundation had a satellite office in Cubao, Quezon City, which “was found with only one staff during inspection. This NGO did not confirm its transactions and did not submit additional documents requested by the Team,” COA said.

Three more NGOs got pork barrel releases from lawmakers who were also their incorporators, or the relatives were:

• Kabaka Foundation Inc received PDAF from Manila Rep Amado Bagatsing, its incorporator.
• Jose Sy Alvarado Inc got funds from Bulacan Rep Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado, who is also its president and incorporator.
• Pamamalaya Foundation Inc received funds from Malabon City Rep Federico Sandoval II, who is brother-in-law of incorporator Jeannie Sandoval.

Same scheme as Napoles’

None of these NGOs were linked to Janet Lim-Napoles, who is being tagged by whistleblowers as the architect of the pork barrel scam and who allegedly maintains at least 10 dummy organizations.

They, however, employed the same modus operandi as Napoles’.

Some provided fictitious addresses or had moved out before auditors visited them:

• ECOSOC’s given address was actually the address of Glock Security Systems Inc.
• Golden Palmdale vacated its former address “without leaving any forwarding address” and therefore could no longer be located. 
• Dynamic Filipino Citizen Civic Organization Inc, which solicited PDAF from 10 lawmakers,  gave a false address and could no longer be found.

“The very existence of this NGO is questionable,” COA noted.

Some NGOs listed ghost beneficiaries. In Kabaka’s case, for example, “one barangay captain claimed that out of the 170 listed beneficiaries, only 34 were confirmed residents” of his village.

Suppliers tapped NGOs were either spurious or provided questionable documents in a feeble attempt to cover up their financial transactions.

For instance, Hand-Made Living Foundation Inc submitted a receipt from a catering company that was no longer operating. Thirteen other suppliers it provided could not be located.

Suppliers listed by Unlad Pinoy Organization denied having had transactions with the group.

Others could not fully liquidate the pork barrel releases they received. Angara’s Kalusugan ng Bata, Karunungan ng Bayan, for example, had not liquidated P9 million.

COA noted that among these 20 NGOs, only the Philippine National Red Cross is “covered by a Charter, under Presidential Decree No.1643.”

The report pointed out that of the P52.1-million PDAF assistance that Red Cross got from its chairman, Senator Richard Gordon, it had only liquidated P30.8 million.

COA noted that Red Cross was preparing its liquidation report for the remaining P21.300 million. – Rappler.com