'Misuse of funds for calamity victims should be heinous crime'

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday warned that people responsible for the misuse of funds donated for victims of calamities should be meted the highest penalty possible for what he described as a heinous crime.

Reacting to the report of the Commission on Audit on the Department of Social Welfare and Development for 2010, Escudero expressed his disappointment for the more than P193 million that was lying idle in a bank instead of being used for relief operations.

COA said that from 2004 to 2010, the DSWD has more than P193.6 million kept in a bank and were not used, “thereby defeating the objective for assistance that resulted further to the accumulation of huge balance of idle funds.”

Another P5.6 million of the funds were used for purposes not directly benefitting the calamity victims.

A total of P314.7 million in donations for calamity victims from various sources were accumulated from 2004 to 2010.

“This is a crying shame! Misuse of donations for victims of calamities should be considered a heinous crime,” Escudero said.

He lamented that the funds could have been used to assist the residents that were hit hard by the numerous cyclones that lashed the country during that period, including “Ondoy,” “Pepeng” and “Santi” in 2009.

This information coming from the COA was highlighted even more considering that several parts of Northern Mindanao are under a state of calamity after tropical storm “Sendong” caused flashfloods in the region.

The affected communities are still struggling to recover from the loss of lives and property and with very little funding going their way, rebuilding would take some time to accomplish.

“It is not simple misappropriation, malversation or corruption when money intended for calamity victims are misused given that such help will decided whether a person may live or die,” Escudero said.

“To gamble and take advantage of money intended to save lives is a higher level of betrayal that to my mind should be meted the highest penalty,” he added.

The COA said that part of the funds was used to pay for miscellaneous expenses “which should be more appropriately charged to regular funds.”

These include payment for warehouse rental, forklift rental, facilitation of release of donated goods, relief operations, trucking service, hauling, forklift, supplies, hand pallet truck, hydraulic stacker, tax, food, electricity and water.

“Expenses should be those that will directly benefit the beneficiaries. Said donations are not intended to remain idle in the (bank) waiting for another calamity to occur,” the COA report stated.