UP Ibalon Bicol: Commisson on Audit

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COA reports of discrepancies in the 2007 AFP expenses

5/19/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

“The US government remitted P244.75 million for the Balikatan Exercises in 2007 and 2006 that should have been returned to the Philippine National Treasury but was deposited in a local bank and placed in the fund for the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) under the AFP Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).”----GMA TV News. com (05/18/09, Meruenas, MD)

"Reports by Newsbreak showed that there are about 8,000 ghost Cafgus nationwide, and an estimated P177.5 million yearly is misused, citing the monthly subsistence allowance of a Cafgu member is pegged at P1,800. Under the scheme, Newsbreak reported that non-existent Cafgu members are reflected in the division payroll but the allowances were diverted to other purposes."----Daily Tribune (05/19/09 Mallari, M)

Right there are observations which make the allegations of Lt. Senior Grade Nancy Gadian deserving of a thorough investigation. Inaccuracies have been uncovered by the Commission of Audit (COA) which relate to what Gadian is talking about---that certain officers have pocketed huge sums of money intended for the US-RP Balikatan exercises.

The senate is divided as to whether the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will take care of its own or the legislature will conduct the probe. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile doesn’t want a senate inquiry, but Sen. Pia Cayetano feels it is needed for transparency and accountability.

Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño, and Neri Colmenares, Gabriela Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan, Anakpawis Representatives Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod, and Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino have called for Lt. Gadian to be physically protected so that the alleged corruption charges against top ranking military officers will be clarified----if proven, those guilty must be brought to justice.

This new embarrassment in the Arroyo government is consistent to the country’s reputation as among the most corrupt country in the world. As of now Lt. Gadian is in hiding, terrified at the prospect of facing the military establishment. Her situation is understandable since there is little appreciation for whistleblowers who risk their lives exposing corruption involving millions of pesos.(Photo Credit: Jayel Aheram) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Archbishop backs Gadian’s expose of the misuse of RP-US Balikatan funds" Posted by mesiamd at 5/16/2009; "Senate wants to probe the misuse of P46 million in the 2007 RP-US Balikatan exercises" Posted by mesiamd at 5/14/2009

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Labels: Accountability, AFP, Bayan Muna, Commisson on Audit, Corruption, Corruption in Government, funding, Lt. Nancy Gadian, RP-US Balikatan, Totie Mesia

No tax collection, no progress?

10/09/2008 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

If the Philippine government knows that taxes serve as lifeblood of its daily function, how come local and national government agencies and its owned & controlled corporations (GOCC’s) do not remit taxes they withheld from employees to the Bureau of Internal Revenue? What are they waiting for? Corruption plus inaction make the picture look worse.

The Commission on Audit (COA) disclosed this gross failure which accounted for revenue loss of P18.6 billion last year. With this uncollected money, is it any wonder why advancement is very slow in the Philippines?

“The GOCCs account for the biggest chunk of the lost revenue—P13.26 billion—followed by the national government agencies (P2.87 billion) and the local government units (P2.51 billion).

The total amount is more than the entire 2009 budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (P12.5 billion), the Department of Finance (P13.8 billion), or the Department of Foreign Affairs (P12 billion)

In 2006, among government agencies, the Department of Public Works and Highways accounts for the biggest amount of unremitted withholding taxes—P796 million—followed by the Department of Education (P303 billion) and Department of Agriculture (P201 million).---abs-cbnNEWS.com, Newsbreak (10/08/2008 Fonbuena,C)

Tasked to look for sources of govenment funds by the House of Representatives, the Congressional Planning and House Budget Office (CPBO) through its director of fiscal services Dina de Jesus Pasagui revealed that even the Philippine Congress and Senate owe the BIR P16 million in withholding taxes and COA owes P33 million. The CPBO chief Rodolfo Vicerra called for an improvement of taxpayers’ database of 29 million nationwide employees, of which only 5 million (less than 1/5) pay taxes.

It seemed the government focused on sensational cases of tax evasion among movie stars like Judy Santos and Regine Velasquez, but it didn’t look into the paralysis of tax collection in huge agencies where the big money would come from to finance the cost of running the country. =0=