LAWMAKERS again assailed the disaster managers of the Aquino administration after Office of Civil Defense chief Alexander Pama explained that the cash donations for victims of Super Typhoon “Yolanda’’ are still in trust funds despite the public need for disaster assistance.
“[That] only prove that there are enough resources to finance the needs of Yolanda victims. They have been suffering for almost two years. What was given for them should really be distributed already to ease their suffering,” said senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
The OCD came under fire after the Commission on Audit discovered that out of the P137 million cash donations for Yolanda victims, only P38.7 million has been released to the victims as of the end of last year.
“That means P98.3 million remains untouched. That amount could have gone a long, long way in providing immediate needs of the victims like permanent shelter and food,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez made the appeal after Pama, who also heads the National Disaster Coordinating Council, said that his agency could not distribute the funds over the past two years because of the limitations set by NDRRMC rules established in 1998.
“I think there is no question about the accounting [of the] money because they are all intact. That’s in a trust fund, Pama said.
He said the CoA was referring to an unspent P384,950,260.65 out of P466.018 million. Of which, government auditors said only P81,068,471.48 was spent for calamity victims.
The CoA had said the unused funds were not remitted to the Bureau of Treasury in violation of Section IV.13 of CAO Circular No. 2014-002 dated April 15, 2014.
The agency further said the Trust Liabilities-Disaster Risk Management Fund account had a balance of P414 million in 2014, the additional millions probably earned through interests in the bank.
Pama dismissed the CoA findings as old news because CoA had reported in 2014 that P692.77 million in Quick Respond Funds and a total of P48.82 million in donations in 2013 were not used for relief and rehabilitation of disaster victims and the money was just kept in banks.
But Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap condemned Pama’s explanation as proof of the Aquino administration’s “criminal negligence” of disaster victims.
“¨“The rage of typoon victims is indescribable over the Aquino government’s criminal negligence,” Hicap said. “Many have died, starved, endured living in tents, makeshift camps, went bankrupt and lost their farms and other hardships, but we are to discover that the donations supposed to help them are hoarded, the Aquino government should be held responsible for this mercilessness.”
Citing the COA report, Hicap said of the 12 incidents since 2008, nine were weather-related since typhoon Frank in June 2008 to typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, the Bohol earthquake in October 2013, the Zamboanga siege in September 2013 and 1 classified as “various disasters.”
Only P81 million of the P466 million donations were spent by the OCD, or a big chunk of 83 percent or P385 million are deposited in the Development Bank of the Philippines, already earning an interest of P1.7 million, Hicap added, referring to the COA report.
“Even the donations for the victims of typhoon Ondoy-Pepeng, Pablo and Yolanda were not distributed to the victims, though, they were considered by the international community to be most damaging to the people and country,” Hicap said.
“The government even had the stomach to file charges against typhoon Pablo victims when they organized to claim the relief from the DSWD office in Davao,” he said.
“This criminal negligence is completely deplorable: this is irrefutable proof that Aquino is a big fraud when he claimed concern of calamity victims, the people must continue to hold him accountable, especially when he leaves his post as president,” Hicap said.”¨”¨
Romualdez, on the other hand, also called for an immediate House probe on the status of the other ‘Yolanda’ donations received by other government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Romualdez dismissed as disgustingly pathetic the excuse by the OCD that the donations had been withheld because of the non-submission of requirements by the victims.
“The homes and possessions of the victims were either destroyed or severely damaged by ‘Yolanda,’along with scores of government offices. So how can the OCD expect them to have complete requirements?
“If the OCD really has compassion for the victims of Yolanda, it can certainly find a way to distribute the donations to the victims. So the question is, do they really have compassion for the victims?”
Romualdez asked.