News Roundup 02 October 2023
Oct 02, 2023 • 4 min Read
Sara’s confidential funds as Davao mayor prompts call for end to secret auditing | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers are pushing for a more transparent auditing process of agencies’ use of confidential funds and the imposition of a “reasonable cap” following resurfaced audit documents showing Davao City’s finances during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure as the city mayor.
Annual audit reports from the Commission on Audit (COA) from 2016 to 2022 show that the local government of Davao City had been allocated a staggering P2.697 billion in confidential funds in total or P460 million per year.
This is larger than the confidential funds received by the country’s wealthiest cities like Makati City and Quezon City, Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers) pointed out. Quezon City only had P435 million in confidential funds in the same time period, while Makati City had P1.25 billion.
Castro called for a probe on whether these expenditures adhered to the guidelines stipulated in COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2015-01.
“Perhaps this is why Vice President Sara Duterte is so eager to have a confidential fund in her national office, as she may have become accustomed to such a practice during her time as mayor of Davao,” Castro said.
Full Story at: Sara’s confidential funds as Davao mayor prompts call for end to secret auditing | Philstar.com
Marcos, Duterte see double-digit drop in approval and trust ratings in September | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The extent to which Filipinos still trust and approve of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte has declined by double digits from June to September, the latest Pulse Asia survey found,
While the two top officials still retain the majority approval and trust of Filipinos, the latest survey by Pulse Asia done mid-September shows that both leaders lost some level of support across all regions and classes after enjoying minimal changes in their ratings in the same poll conducted in March.
The Pulse Asia survey was conducted from September 10 to 15, when budget debates triggered public clamor for transparency in government agencies’ use and requests for confidential funds. The largest chunk of this in the proposed 2024 budget will go to the Office of the President (P4.5 billion), while P650 million was set to go to Duterte before lawmakers vowed to realign the secret fund.
The slump in Marcos and Duterte’s trust and approval scores also comes “amid uncontrollable inflation,” political science professor Cleve Arguelles said.
“Bagong Pilipinas appears to be taking a hit,” Arguelles added.
Similarly, political science professor Arj Aguirre said that the drop in Marcos and Duterte’s rating is “significant since it is beyond the margin of error.”
Full Story at: Marcos, Duterte see double-digit drop in approval and trust ratings in September | Philstar.com
Zubiri wants LGUs’ use of secret funds clipped | INQUIRER.NET – Any legislative proposal to clip the authority of national state agencies to use confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) should also cover local government units (LGUs), according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Zubiri issued the remarks amid an ongoing audit being conducted by a Senate oversight committee on CIFs.
He was also responding to the plan of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III to file a measure limiting the allocation of lump-sum funds for undercover operations to select government agencies.
The Senate leader, however, did not mention the issues hounding Vice President Sara Duterte, who reportedly received a staggering P2.7 billion in confidential funds when she served as mayor of Davao City from 2016 to 2022 based on the annual audit reports of the Commission on Audit.
Full Story at: Zubiri wants LGUs’ use of secret funds clipped | Inquirer News
House probe into multi-billion Pampanga drug haul pushed | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Two ranking lawmakers from the House of Representatives have called for an investigation into the recent seizures of large volumes of shabu in Pampanga, amid fears that syndicates are colluding with local authorities.
House Resolution No. 1346, filed by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Monday, asked the House committee on dangerous drugs to probe the following anti-drug operations:
- seizure of P3.6 billion shabu found in a Mexico, Pampanga warehouse
- discovery of P1.3 billion shabu in an abandoned car in Mabalacat City, Pampanga
Gonzales represents the 3rd district of Pampanga, while Barbers is head of the concerned House panel.
“There is a need to revisit all relevant laws to combat the increasing number of drug smugglers, traffickers, and syndicates in our country through effective law enforcement and successful prosecution,” Gonzales and Barbers said in the resolution.
Full Story at: House probe into multi-billion Pampanga drug haul pushed | Inquirer News
