DBM TOLD TO ACCOUNT FOR FUNDS WITHHELD
FROM PROJECTS OF OPPOSITION SOLONS

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today asked Malacañang and the Department of Budget and Management to account for funds earmarked for projects identified and supported by opposition lawmakers under the annual national budgets but were withheld over the past several years.

Pimentel said most of the opposition senators have not received their share of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) since 2005 when the "Hello Garci" scandal broke out in reprisal for being critical of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

He said even funds for school buildings, hospitals and roads recommended by opposition senators and congressmen, already funded under the multi-year Public Works Act, have been withheld by the Palace and the DBM for no justifiable reason other than their persistent criticisms of the Arroyo administration - which is in keeping with their constitutional role to check wrongdoing based on the principle of checks and balance among the independent branches of government.

"In stark contrast, the administration seems to have no problem, but in fact is quite generous, in releasing funds for projects sponsored by its legislative allies. It treats taxpayers' money as if it is owned by the ruling party, to be dispensed exclusively to its allies as a reward for being loyal and for closing their eyes to the venalities and excesses being committed by the wielders of power," the minority leader said.

Pimentel cited media reports that about a billion peso worth of projects have been in implemented in the district of Camarines del Sur of presidential son Rep. Dato Arroyo since he was elected neophyte congressman in 2007.

He said he also found out that Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, in his official website, reported to his constituents that "barely 19 months in office - though a neophyte in the House of Representatives - has already implemented more than 300 projects worth more than P1.5 billion" from July 1, 2007 to December, 2008.

"What the Arroyo administration has overlooked is the fact that its obnoxious malpractice of starving opposition bailiwicks of funds is hurting the common people more than the lawmakers. This has had the effect of boomeranging on the administration, as reflected in the President's failing marks in public opinion surveys, because the people are outraged over its discriminatory, partisan and vindictive policy that applies to the disbursement of taxpayers' money.

Pimentel said he is a prime victim of the administration's prejudicial policy against its critics, citing the DBM's refusal to release of funds for the 11- year old convention center project in Cagayan de Oro City, resulting in the delay in it completion and increase in construction cost.

He said the construction of the Convention and Civic Center Project in Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City was started in 200l and was originally scheduled for completion in 2003. But due to the delays in the release of funds, it is uncertain whether the project will be finished at all.

Pimentel said funding allocations for the Convention and Civic Center in Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City for the period 2005 to 2007 amounting to P240.65 million have not been released despite repeated requests with the DBM and even after he sought President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's intercession through a letter last May. The money came from the Public Works Fund and the senator's Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

"To date, I have not received a single satisfactory explanation for the withholding of the release of the funds for the completion of the CDO Convention Center," he said in a letter to Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, Jr. on Nov. 3.

In his letter to Andaya, the senator from Mindanao asked for an explanation on the DBM's refusal to release the funds already allocated for the convention center project, including those included in the general appropriations act from 2008 to 2009.

The CDO Convention and Civic Center, initiated by Pimentel, is an approved priority project of the government and it is identified by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

"The truth of the matter is I am being subjected to their squeeze play. I do not hesitate to criticize what should be criticized. And that is how they get back at me. What they want is for every lawmaker to be a bootlicker," Pimentel said.

The project was conceptualized at the start of Pimentel's term as a senator in 1998. To date, only 45 percent of the project has been completed.

Pimentel said in his letter to President Arroyo, that she can name the project after her late father, President Diosdado Macapagal, because he was President. But this tack didn't work and President has not responded to his appeal.

It is a 7,700-seat trade and convention center, ideal for national, international and trade exhibits. It was envisioned to showcase the potential for socio-cultural and economic development in the South not to mention its impact on tourism by making Northern Mindanao a major international convention destination.

The construction of the project started on June 30, 2001 with the original target date of completion on August 18, 2003 and with a contract price of P349.9 million. Due to various delays, the project cost has now been estimated by the DPWH at P758 million as of August 27, 2009.