COA AUDIT: P193 MILLION CASH DONATIONS FOR CALAMITY VICTIMS STILL SITTING IN DSWD BANK ACCOUNT Video

COA audit: P193-M for calamity victims unused, kept in bank
December 30, 2011
Donations for calamity victims amounting to over P193-M were left unused, according to the Commission on Audit (COA) annual audit report on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The COA said that from 2004 to 2010, P193,673,317.98 in donations meant for calamity victims were unused and kept in a deposit account in an Authorized Government Depository Bank (AGDB).

In a report by Sandra Aguinaldo on GMA News "24 Oras," DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman said that the amount has been turned over to the National Treasury, but they recently requested to use it for the victims of tropical storm Sendong.

Soliman explained that the donations were left in the bank because the needs of past disaster victims had already been met without using the fund.

"Marami po talagang pumasok na pera para po sa Ondoy and other disasters na hindi naman kinakailangang gastusin lahat sapagkat natugunan naman ang mga pangangailangan ng mga nasalanta," she said in the report.

With entire coastal villages washed away by floods spawned by Sendong and perhaps tens of thousands in need of relocation, the government this time may need all the donations coming in. There has also been a flood of cash directed to private foundations and organizations like the Red Cross, although donations reportedly slowed during the holidays as office wokers went on vacation.



The COA audit also questioned DSWD's implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and noted that some families that were given aid were not really entitled to it, and were even involved in unlawful activities, such as gambling and illegal electricity connections.

Soliman said over 170,000 people have been disqualified and removed from a list of over 2 million beneficiaries. She said the program will continue and the process of screening and determining financial aid beneficiaries remains in place.

"Tuloy-tuloy po ang paglilinis at pagsisigurado na ang mga nabibigyan natin ay ang mga mamamayang nangangailangan," the Social Welfare Secretary said.

Sought for comment, Malacañang said the COA's report was unfair to the CCT program.

"For four people out of thousands that the CCT has managed to help, medyo unfair naman ho yung blanket, sweeping generalization that the CCT goes to gambling lords and to pushers," a Palace spokesperson said in the "24 Oras" report. ? ATL/ELR/HS, GMA News
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/243134/news/nation/coa-audit-p193-m-for-calamity-victims-unused-kept-in-bank

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