Once named as one of its “heroes” in the fight against modern-day slavery, Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, founder of the Visayan Forum (VF), has become the subject of a complaint of the USAID or the United States Agency for International Development. USAID accused the VF of allegedly misusing over P210 million of its P300 million donation for a port project. The project was intended to shelter human trafficking victims in airports and harbors. The case, perhaps the first that USAID has filed against a Philippine NGO, is unprecedented. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed the fraud accusation against VF before the justice department, submitting evidence that included about 35,000 documents stored in 35 boxes. The NBI discovered 32 boxes of allegedly falsified receipts used to defraud donors of USAID. The NGO has denied the charge and Oebanda has implied that traffickers masterminded the exposé.
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