Friday, January 8, 2016

What price peace? Ging Deles in hot water for leasing 300 cars, keeping P700M DAP funds

SHELL INSATIABLE GREED

What price peace? Ging Deles in hot water for leasing 300 cars, keeping P700M DAP funds

The Commission on Audit is asking Secretary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, to explain why her office decided to rent 294 vehicles even though she and other peace panel officers had their own service vehicles and transportation allowances.

The COA also questioned why Deles’ office did not return P662 million in Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds to the Treasury more than year after the DAP was declared unconstitutional by the High court.

In a report released December 21, 2015, state auditors said Deles’ decision to pay lease for 294 vehicles was highly questionable given the deal’s lack of “regularity and probity.”

The COA questioned why Deles’ office went ahead with the vehicle rental without getting permission from the Department of Budget and Management.

The COA asked Deles’ office why it spent P45.3 million for vehicle rental which was more than what it spent for the rent of office space and equipment.

The COA questioned the need to rent 294 vehicles when Deles and 34 other officers from her office and the government peace panel headed by UP Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer 23 vehicles at their disposal (at least 4 officials were issued more than one service vehicle) and were given regular transportation allowances. The COA discovered that Deles’ office had a total 56 vehicles in its motor pool.

The COA said that Deles entered into vehicle lease agreements with an employee in her office, who did not prior experience in the rental business, without a bidding to “the disadvantage of the government and in violation of PD No. 1445 and DTI rules and regulations.”

Aside from questionable vehicle lease contracts, the COA also asked why the DAP has held on to P662 million in DAP funds even after the July 2014 ruling of the Supreme Court which declared the DAP The COA said that Deles’ office could have understated the unreturned DAP funds because these were wrongly treated as liquidations by her office.

Deles’ office received a total of P2.067 billion in DAP funds of which P1.467 billion were used and transferred to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of the Regional Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and provincial government of Northern Samar and the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The COA said that only P800 million of this amount was liquidated with the remaining P667 million unaccounted for.