P89.5-M unused PDAF stuck in QC coffers

(First of two parts)

MANILA, Philippines - Some P89.5 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from several congressmen and senators are stuck in the coffers of the Quezon City government due to missing records, some which were supposedly destroyed in a fire at the city hall in 2009.

In an interview with The STAR, city treasurer Edgar Villanueva said they will conduct a comprehensive audit of these funds “as soon as possible” in order for them to properly identify the lawmakers who allotted the funds to the local government.

“We should really return these to the Bureau of Treasury because it’s the money of the national government,” said Villanueva, referring to the unutilized PDAF cited in the recently released Commission on Audit (COA) report for 2012.

However, he said they could not just return the funds without first securing proper documentation.

“Our problem is that our records are incomplete,” he said, adding that they could not even identify some of the lawmakers who allotted parts of their PDAF to the city.

He cited the May 5, 2009 fire at the city hall, which destroyed some of the local government’s records, as a possible reason for the missing documents.

Villanueva said there is a need to immediately return the funds to the national government, especially after the Supreme Court ruling that declared PDAF unconstitutional.

Unimplemented, unutilized

In its audit report, COA said PDAF amounting to P26.75 million were not fully implemented for the programs they were intended, while another P62.75 million were not implemented at all.

The audit report noted that some Special Allotment Release Orders pertaining to funds transferred in years 2007 to 2010 are no longer available, hence, “the purpose for such transfer could no longer be identified and/or determined.”