MERGED: All About Gloria Arroyo - Past, Present, Future

[Bitukon11]

GMA? nah! wala na jd ko lain mahunahunaan ay.. dba top mana cya sa most powerful women? unsaon na lang kaha ni noh kung paninglan na ni cya sa Ginoo?

[PaYaSo]

P8B spent under GMA for ‘farm-to-pocket’ deal

By Angie M. Rosales

09/19/2011

In its last six months in power, the Arroyo administration spent almost P7.5 billion of taxpayers’ money for a “farm-to-market” road project that did not even have a work program, Sen. Franklin Drilon said yesterday.
Drilon added the oversight committee on public expend-itures uncovered these alleged fund releases to the Department of Agriculture (DA) following the submission of various agencies of their respective liquidation reports recently.
“We are deter-mining if the funds went to a ‘farm-to-pocket roads,’ ‘roads to my farm’ project or nothing has happened at all,” Drilon said.
Former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, currently detained for his alleged involvement in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre, also had squealed about Arroyo receiving around P200 million in kickbacks from farm-to-market road projects in 2008 and 2009.
Ampatuan filed three separate affidavits stating kickbacks were demanded through former Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangan-daman for the projects.
The Commission on Audit (CoA) also reported irregularities in the use of P500 million released for the construction of farm-to-market roads in Maguindanao during the Arroyo administration.
The report stated three out of four farm-to-market roads in Maguindanao were hardly built or not built



at all and the funds were mostly spent for gasoline purchases from a service station owned by the Ampatuans.
Agrarian Reform Secretary Gil delos Reyes noted the release of the money for the road projects in Maguindanao was suspiciously fast, and happened two months prior to the Maguindanao massacre.
Based on government documents, former budget chief Rolando Andaya signed a Special Allocation Release Order (SARO) for the P500 million road projects on June 1, 2009, and his agency released a Notice of Cash Allocation the next day.
“We realized that the previous administration, between January to June 30, 2010, released P7.5 billion for farm-to-market road (projects). This was an election period. We’re now looking into it, if it ended in ‘farm-to-pocket’ roads or ‘roads to my farm’ or if it was a ghost project,” he said in an interview with dzBB.
“We do not want to come to any conclusion. We’re looking into this now. If there was a fertilizer scam before, this could be an ‘overpass’ farm-to-market road. The previous DA officials were quite to be efficient. They were quite efficient in utilization of funds,” he added.
Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, pointed out that aside from the questionable period when the funds were made available, it was noted that no actual program of work were identified in these alleged projects.
The senator said it would give an impression that the former administration was building several expensive “flyovers” given the number of these farm-to-market roads that are being funded by the government yearly.
Actual releases of the P7.5 billion fund were done in just six months, Drilon said, as he questioned how the DA, then headed by former Secretary Arthur Yap, was able to disburse such a huge amount.
The senator said he is still verifying the documents related to the project as to where the projects are located.
“We have gathered evidence that funds for these farm-to-market roads were released before the change of the administration,” he said, pointing out a similar scheme such as the P729.48 million in fertilizer funds which were diverted for the 2004 presidential campaign of Arroyo, now a Pampanga congresswoman.
Drilon said the funds were released by the Department of Agriculture from January-June last year, or the months just before former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stepped down from office,
Actual releases of the P7.5 billion fund were done in just six months, Drilon said, as he questioned how the Agriculture department, then headed by former Secretary Arthur Yap, was able to disburse such a huge amount.
“The former officials in the Department of Agriculture are rather efficient in utilization of funds,” Drilon, also the chairman of the Senate Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures which reviewed the alleged irregularities in the project, said.
Asked about the extent of the liability of officials involved, Drilon said: “We do not want to come to any conclusion. We are currently looking into this.” Drilon said he was still verifying the documents related to the project as to where the projects were located.

[jack_bauer]

^
OT:

in fairness sa tribune naa man sd diay ni maayong balita..

[PaYaSo]

Witnesses: Ex-poll chief ordered rigging of 2007 votes

• Tuesday, September 20, 2011

MANILA -- Two election officers have tagged former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief Benjamin Abalos of rigging the 2007 senatorial polls to favor Arroyo administration bets.

Two provincial election supervisors from Mindanao claimed that Abalos forced them to participate in activities to ensure that the twelve candidates of the Arroyo administration won over their rivals, 12-0.

Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/loc...7-votes-180342

[isd09]

maayu unta mga priso na sila oi....

[mr.twin]

dli na sya corrupt kay wla na proven.. gikiha wla man na preso lisod pag accuse sa isa ka tawo nga kawatan if dli masakpan sa akto nya ma priso gyd.. all are accused by publicity of the politics. wait lang ta unsa hukom sa Court of Justice mora naa man case g file usa ta mo judge..

[karljadon]

All president even Pnoy are doing monkey business in the government....That's their first priority to get more on what they invested. Our government system is the problem, in other country no fork barrel, they let other government agency handle the business side of the state while the politician are the one checking if they are doing it correctly....While here in the philippines our politician are the architect, engineer, planner, buyer, and many more, they can control all those vital money access. That's where in and out of all corruption.....

Who among politician change these system and what to approve these system, no one even Pnoy don't what it to change.....it's bullshit

So if I become politician, I do the same, I will be corrupt that's honest answer, because I have a chance to manipulate the system on my own point of advantage.....you can have commission on both side, government and the contractor without knowing the public......To avoid it, take all those money matter to other agency and let the politician do the checking if they are doing it right, there could be corruption but become less because u have lots of people involve. The law of good and successful corruption is that the fewer people involve the bigger chance of unnoticeable corruption. Corruption is like a crime or a crime, fewer people involve bigger chance to evade the law.....

[bosin]

run mga corrupt! bisag unsa nlng isa e sulti na sakit oi

[PaYaSo]

OP unliquidated cash advances under GMA reach P1 billion

By Angie M. Rosales
09/22/2011

There remains an estimated unliquidated P1 billion in cash advances, mostly incurred in foreign travels of the Office of the President (OP) during the last two years of the Arroyo administra-tion, senators were told yesterday.

Commission on Audit (CoA) 2009 and 2010 reports yielded the figures P594 million unsettled cash advances as of Dec. 31, 2009 and an unliquidated balance of P367.2 million as of Aug. 31, 2011, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said before the Senate finance committee.

“In the 2009 CoA report, among the most prominent are cash advances amounting to P594 million which remained unliquidated as of Dec. 31, 2009,” said committee chairman Sen. Franklin Drilon in hearing the proposed P2.7-billion budget next year of the Office of the President.

“This is a subject of our examination and we have yet to come out with the list. As I understand from the career officials who remain there under the Office of the President that there were numerous disbursing officers who were assigned or who received cash advances.

“And if I may volunteer some information, we have some internal accounting while the CoA report for 2010 has not yet been released, we have on record and

under the OP right now, as of Dec. 31, 2010, the unliquidated cash advances has a total of P571.1 million and out of which, liquidations have been made already to the tune of P203.8 million as of Aug. 31, 2011, leaving an unliquidated balance of P367.2 million,” Ochoa retorted.

The bulk of these cash advances pertains to foreign travels of the former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, the Executive Secretary further reported.

Drilon noted, as per CoA report, that funds allotted in 2009 under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for traveling expenses in the OP was only P244.6 million and yet a total of P940.6 million was actually spent.

As CoA noted, the traveling expense exceeded by P696 million or 284 percent the provision for local and foreign travel of the president under its 2009 travel fund of P244.6 million.

“The latest CoA report on OP is in 2009. The actual disbursement on travels during the incumbency of Arroyo in 2009 P848.1 million for foreign travels and for local travels, actual disbursement is P92.5 million. In total, the actual disbursement for traveling in 2009 is P940.6 million,” he said.

Of the said P848.1 million, P128.2 million was suspended and P1.727 million was disallowed in audit.

“This demonstrates the lack of respect of the previous administration of the Appropriations Law. This is the kind of impunity and abuse that is being committed insofar as the budget was concerned. There is absolutely no respect for the appropriations done. They just spent whatever amount they needed,” Drilon stressed.

“So, it would appear that there is already some discrepancy between the liquidation and what is allowed under the CoA rules so that a substantial portion has not been passed in audit,” he added.

It also did not come to pass Drilon’s scrutiny as to whether the disbursements for foreign travels in 2009 would fall under traveling expenses of P940.6 million or if it’s on top of the item for foreign travels.

“Yes, that is how it appears. The CoA report says that over and above what has been appropriated under the OP, P696 million has been spent for foreign travels. It also includes local travels but that is minimal compared to the foreign travels. We can provide the Senate committee these details. We have initiated some efforts in this, in trying to dig up the names of persons who actually were, or who joined the foreign travels,” Ochoa said.

The Executive Secretary added it was mentioned in the report that “there were non-paying and paying members in those travels, meaning to say, the paying members are supposed to pay off the cash advances extended to them by the OP.”

“However, it appeared when we were inquiring about this that there was no record at all who were part of the delegation of the former president. Whenever she travels abroad, there is no official list. So the members of the delegation only became known if they voluntarily pay or reimburse the government for whatever expense they incurred during those travels,” he said.

Ochoa told Drilon that “these are things we are not so clear on right now, as of now and we want to get to the bottom of this.”

Drilon said wants his committee to get hold of updated information on what was the actual expenses for travels since the CoA report is not very clear on this point.

Responding to Drilon’s query, Ochoa said he understood that the local travel amounted to only about P30 million but the actual figure still needed to be verified.

“We would like to request for some time to be able to give the breakdown,” he added.

“We saw enormous amounts and this data was given to us by people in Malacañang itself and these were enormous amounts appearing in the names of officials. And the bureaucracy in the OP could no longer stomach what they we were doing that is why they gave us these records. That is why (we) are asking for these records, these are very substantial,” Drilon added.

“We just want to put on record how the previous administration has simply disregarded this item, this appropriation limitation of P244.6 million and exceeded it by almost 500 percent.This is the kind of disregard for fiscal authorizations that we saw in the past,” he added.


source: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlin...10922hed2.html

[PaYaSo]

Daily dose of corruption updates brought to you by: The Daily Tribune - Without Fear or Favor


San Juan rep says no need to look for more evidence vs GMA

By Gerry Baldo
09/23/2011

The current evidence that linked former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the massive cheating during the 2004 presidential elections are enough to pin her down.

This was the reaction of San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito to the statement of the Department of Justice (DoJ) that it needed more evidence to develop a strong case against the former President in connection with her alleged participation in vote rigging.

Ejercito maintained the “Hello Garci” tapes and other documentary and circumstantial evidence could prove that she was involved in election cheating.

“There is no need to look for fresh evidence against Mrs. Arroyo,” Ejercito said yesterday.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said there is no testimony or evidence that would directly link the former President to election cheating in 2004 and 2007.

Ejercito said the “Hello Garci” tapes could serve as a strong evidence.

“Yung Hello Garci tapes pa lang ay sapat nang ebidensya upang patunayan na nakialam si GMA sa eleksyon noong 2004,” Ejercito said.

This developed as House Deputy Minority Leader Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong said Mrs. Arroyo is fast recovering and could accept visitors in her La Vista home after two weeks.

“She’s now doing well and we are planning to visit her in the next two weeks,” Datumanong said.

Datumanong added since Mrs. Arroyo was discharged from the hospital after a spinal operation, her allies have not been allowed to visit her.

Ejercito welcomed the development. He said Mrs. Arroyo, once recovered, could not face the charges against her.

The Arroyos are facing six plunder cases and several other graft cases in connection with big anomalous transactions during the previous administration.

The first plunder case was filed on Aug. 17, 2010 by one Danilo Lihay-lihay at the DoJ in connection with the P1.2-billion sale of the old Iloilo Airport to Megaworld Corp.

The second plunder case was filed on June 28, 2011 by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez at the DoJ for Mrs. Arroyo’s alleged use of nearly P1.6 billion in fertilizer funds to bolster her presidential bid in 2004.

The third plunder case was again filed by Chavez on April 26, 2011 before the DoJ in connection with her alleged misuse of P530 million belonging to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

The fourth plunder case was filed by Bayan Muna Reps. Teddy Casiño and Neri Colmenares on July 12, 2011 before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with her alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds during her administration.

The fifth plunder case was filed by former Akbayan Rep. Rissa Hontiveros, former Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and Jimmy Regalario on July 26, 2011 before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged illegal release of P325 million from the PCSO) from 2008 to 2010.

The sixth was about the $328-million national broadband deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp.