After alleged involvement in Pork Scam Cebu solons deny misuse of PDAF

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu congressmen tagged in the alleged misuse of their Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel yesterday denied the allegations.

Reports from national dailies named former congressmen Eduardo Gullas (1st district); Ramon Durano VI (5th district); Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (6th district); and incumbent Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing (6th district) as having funneled huge amounts of their pork barrel funds into fake NGOs through the Philippine Forest Corporation (PFC), the agro-forestry arm of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor), a corporate subsidiary of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The said NGOs, however, reportedly do not belong to those connected with fugitive Janet Lim-Napoles.

According to the reports, Gullas and Durano have reportedly given P9 million each of pork funds to the PFC. Gullas also reportedly gave P225,000 to Gabay at Pag-Asa ng Masa Foundation.

He also gave P1.425 million while Quisumbing gave P900,000 to the Kabuhayan at Kalusugang Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc. Quisumbing also gave P750,000 to the Kasangga sa Magandang Bukas Foundation Inc. Another report said that Soon-Ruiz gave a total of P22 million in pork funds to various NGOs.

In a press conference yesterday, Gullas clarified that the organizations that received funds from his PDAF are not bogus and that the implementing agencies are the central offices of the departments concerned.

“God knows, I have not done anything wrong there,” Gullas said.

He also clarified that those funds attributed to him did not come from his PDAF but from the implementing agency. As an example, he cited the P9 million given to him by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) upon the request of the municipal government of Minglanilla. Gullas said DAR directly released the funds to Infinite Community Integrated Development Support Foundation Inc., which in turn distributed the financial aid to beneficiaries in Minglanilla barangays.

He said that even representatives from DAR and the DA witnessed the distribution of assistance to beneficiaries in barangays Vito, Candulawan and Guindaruhan in Minglanilla.

“I protect my credibility, mauwaw ko sa gibilin nga maayong ngan sa akong amahan, that’s the only inheritance I have aside from UV, the legacy of papa , the good name,” Gullas said, adding that he does not know and has not met Napoles.

Meanwhile, former 5th District Representative, now Danao City Vice Mayor Ramon “Red” Durano VI, in a statement sent to The Freeman, confirmed that his office released funds to the PFC.

“First of all, we are confirming that the funding was released through Philippine Forest Corporation  to implement our district’s flood control, biodiesel production and disaster mitigation programs, which are national advocacies,” Durano’s statement said.

He added that PFC is included in the PDAF menu as one of the implementing agencies of the program.

“The NGOs endorsed to our office have accreditations with PFC. With regards to the project, it was successfully implemented in our district,” Durano said and stressed that based on his office’s dealings with the PFC, the release of funds came in two tranches and that the funds are not released without the supervision and evaluation from the PFC.

The former congressman added that with the funds, his office was able to organize seminars and trainings participated by farmers’ associations, point-persons and officials of LGUs in the district. He added that to ensure that the program was well carried out, “we conducted meetings and asked for the progress from LGUs on its implementation.”

For his part, 6th District Representative Luis Gabriel Quisumbing, the only incumbent congressman among those tagged in the alleged misuse of the PDAF, also denied the allegations.

Lawyer Jocelia Bighani, Quisumbing’s chief of staff, said the congressman’s pork barrel is well-accounted for and its use, well-documented.

Bighani explained that Quisumbing’s PDAF was coursed through government agencies for the implementation of projects needed by his constituents in the Sixth District. The government agencies concerned were the ones who tapped non-government organizations to help in the implementation of his projects.

However, Bighani added that even if Quisumbing’s PDAF was coursed through government agencies, his district office still oversees the implementation of the projects and they have proof to show that the funds reached its intended beneficiaries.

“We can even provide documents to anyone to show proof na wala talaga kaming ghost projects at pwede pa nga nilang matawagan yung mga beneficiaries namin,” Bighani said, adding that Quisumbing lauded President Aquino’s statement which called for the accountability of those who have abused the PDAF.

Quisumbing, in a press statement, said that the President’s call for increased transparency in the use of public funds has also been his personal advocacy since he started public service in 2004.

“While the original intent of the PDAF policy cannot be faulted in its goal to deliver much needed services directly our constituents, the President has the wisdom to recognize that the PDAF’s susceptibility to abuse warrants a hard second look and even its abolition,” Quisumbing said.

Former congresswoman Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, who also represented the 6th District, was not available for comment as of press time. — /QSB (FREEMAN)