Deputy Minority Leader Rolex Suplico said the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), which collects hundreds of millions of pesos in passport, visa and other fees from the estimated 130,000 Filipinos in Taiwan and from Taiwanese tourists visiting the Philippines, funded the Venable deal.
He said MECO funds, despite being collected from Filipino workers, are considered private money and are at the disposal of President Arroyo.
In the course of a House appropriations committee hearing on the proposed P5.2-billion 2006 budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Suplico confronted Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo with his information on MECO funding for the Venable contract that the President has ordered canceled.
"I have no knowledge of this, and I am not in a position to give any answer," Romulo said.
"Does MECO, being the country’s representative office in Taiwan, report to you and the DFA?" Suplico asked.
"No, your honor. They must be reporting to some other official, but not to me or my department," the foreign secretary answered.
Suplico then asked Romulo if he knew who heads MECO, and Romulo, who was executive secretary before he was moved to the DFA, said he did not know.
"For your information, Mr. Secretary, MECO is headed by Tomas Alcantara, the President’s chief of staff," Suplico told Romulo.
Members of the appropriations committee then shook their heads and laughed quietly, clearly disbelieving that the former executive secretary did not know who headed MECO and to whom the office reports.
Apparently noticing the lawmakers’ reactions, an embarrassed Romulo told them, "I really do not know, and I just wanted to be precise and accurate (in my answers)."
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a senior vice chairman of the appropriations committee, said he would suggest to Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., committee chairman, that the panel invite Palace officials who know about MECO’s operations.