(NOEL ABUEL)

NAGMISTULANG ‘mega parking lot of funds” na ang Procurement Service ng Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) na pinamumunuan ni former USec. Lloyd Christopher Lao bilang officer-in-charge.

Gayundin umano ang nangyayari sa Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) kaya hindi maibalik sa National Treasury ang hindi nagamit na pondo ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Ito ang sinabi ni Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto kung saan nagagamit na umano ngayon ang PS-DBM at PITC para taguan ng hindi nagamit na pondo ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Nagsimulang maging kontrobersyal ang PS-DBM nang madiskubre ng Commission on Audit (COA) ang ilang kwestyonableng pagbili nito tulad ng overpriced medical supplies kontra COVID-19.

“Ang ibig sabihin niyan ay may bilyones na pambili ng mga gamit o proyekto na hindi pa nagagamit ng PS-DBM at ng PITC,” ani Recto.

Ayon sa senador, ang P63.1 bilyon ay pinaghahatian na ng dalawang “pasa-buy agencies” kung saan ang P31.54 bilyon ay nasa PITC habang sa PS-DBM ay P31.56 bilyon.

“The two agencies have become last minute dumping grounds of about-to-expire allotments of agencies. Hindi naman procurement expertise ang dahilan kung bakit sila napapasahan ng pondo. Ang totoong dahilan ay upang huwag abutan ng deadline at mapaso ang mga pondo ng mga ahensya,” sabi ni Recto.

“Once an agency transfers the funds for a particular project to PITC or PS-DBM, the funds are deemed obligated. Parang committed na. And this prevents the funds from being returned to the Treasury,” dagdag nito.

Sa madaling salita aniya, dinadaya na umano ng PITC at DBM ang publiko sa pagsasabing nagastos na ang pondo na inilaan sa mga ahensya ng pamahalaan subalit ang katotohanan ay hindi pa.

“In short, we are deluding ourselves with the fiction that the funds are obligated when they are not. It circumvents the provision in the national budget that appropriations must be spent within the fiscal year,” aniya.

“Ang nangyari, parang cryogenic chambers itong PS-DBM at PITC that deep freezes funds. At ganu’n nga nangyari, kasi ‘yung PITC halimbawa, mayroon pang P355 million worth of goods and projects to be delivered out of orders made in 2016,” paliwanag pa ni Recto.

Kasabay ng paglutang ng pangalan ni Lao sa kontrobersyal na overpriced procurement ang pagsingaw ng kaugnayan nito kay Senador Bong Go.

Agad namang pinabulaanan ng senador na nagsilbing aide niya ang kontrobersyal na dating DBM PS official.

“I wish to clarify that contrary to claims of some personalities and news outlets, former USec. Lloyd Christopher Lao of the DBM Procurement Services was never my aide. To call him such is inaccurate,” sabi ni Go.

Paliwanag pa nito na si Lao ay nagsilbing volunteer election lawyer ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte noong 2016 at na-appoint sa Presidential Management Staff hanggang 2017.

“He was a volunteer election lawyer of President Duterte in 2016 and was appointed to the Presidential Management Staff at the start of the term until early 2017. After which he was appointed to HLURB and later to the DBM in 2019 before resigning last June of this year. Lao did not directly report to me nor did he ever serve as my aide,” ayon pa kay Go.

Dalawang ulit nang lumutang ang pangalan ni Lao sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte at sa parehong pagkakataon ay kaladkad pati ang tinaguriang pambansang alalay.