EDITORIAL - Failure of regulation

Among the numerous non-government organizations that were recipients of lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund, 82 were questionable, according to the head of the Commission on Audit, Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan. The 82 NGOs, which received a total of P6.156 billion from the congressional pork barrel from 2007 to 2009, listed addresses that turned out to be expensive private residences, condominium units and even shanties, Tan told a news conference yesterday.

NGOs and foundations have figured in questionable transactions for a long time in this country. Relatively easy to set up and largely unencumbered by rules on transparency and accountability, NGOs have been linked for many years to numerous anomalies, from the laundering of ill-gotten wealth to pyramid scams and terrorist financing. Even some of President Aquino’s officials have been criticized for their links to an NGO with questionable activities.

The scandals should have led to tighter regulation of NGOs. Instead NGOs continued to mushroom with hardly any regulation, engaging in almost all activities involving fund-raising. Now a multibillion-peso scandal has erupted, involving the use of NGOs in the questionable utilization of the congressional pork barrel. The scandal, with a flamboyant businesswoman at its center, is contaminating legitimate NGOs, including those that are genuinely assisting the poor and marginalized sectors.

This is a failure of regulation, in both the utilization of public funds by Congress and in the activities of organizations that are allowed to handle billions in taxpayers’ money. Non-government organizations serve a purpose and are unlikely to be abolished, but any entity that handles public funds needs tight regulation. The latest scandal should finally lead to this.