Despite President Arroyo’s order that all government agencies should adopt austerity measures to conserve the government’s meager financial resources, diplomats close to Malacañang have been spending more than their allotted budgets for living quarters in their host countries.
Sources within the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed yesterday that Consul General to New York Cecil Rebong allegedly pays $10,000 (roughly P550,000) monthly in rent for her flat in the posh Trump Plaza building in Manhattan, which is located across the United Nations headquarters.
A ranking DFA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the DFA allows diplomats some latitude and approves an allowance for living quarters that is slightly higher than the limit set for each diplomatic post, but added that this extra allowance should not be excessive.
"Considering the economy we are in, it is unconscionable to be giving that amount of money," the DFA official said. "In keeping with the times, (Rebong) should look for another modest home where the rental is reasonable. They should not choose rentals that are for developed economies and we will pay" the high rent.
The official added that if the Overseas and Living Quarters Allowances Indices of the DFA were "strictly" enforced, the amount of rent Rebong reportedly pays for her Manhattan flat could not be accommodated, because it is beyond the $33,984 annual allocation for living quarters.
A $33,984 yearly allocation amounts to about $2,832 (or P154,344) per month in rent.
Ambassadors and consul generals assigned to posts such as New York are given a somewhat higher allocation, up to $43,391 in overseas and living quarters allowances annually.
The official said Rebong, who once served as Malacañang Chief of Protocol, had been authorized to reside at the Trump Plaza and spend $10,000 a month in rent by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo himself.
Sources said this is not the first time Rebong was assigned to New York, since she served in this capacity in the past.
"She has never been assigned to another post — only in New York," the source said. "If a diplomat has been posted there, he should not be assigned there again. Some people are malapit sa diyos (close to the gods) and she is the one."
Rebong, whose family also resides in New York, was criticized for what has been described as her "capricious" lifestyle because the extra dollars allocated to pay for her living quarters could go towards conserving money for the cash-strapped government.