UN wants accountability of funds for Phl's UN peacekeeping operations

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations wants disbursement of funds extended to member countries done in accordance with “national norms and standards.”

The UN was reacting to allegations of misuse of funds for Filipino troops in peacekeeping missions by top officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The Department of Foreign Affairs, for its part, clarified that UN reimbursements for Filipino peacekeepers go directly to the AFP and not to the DFA.

“This is a national matter. The UN reimburses governments, not soldiers, and we rely on the member states to disburse the funds in accordance with their national norms and standards,” a statement from the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

UN Resident Coordinator Dr. Jacqueline Badcock said the UN headquarters in New York, and not its local office, would deal with the issue.

Former state auditor Heidi Mendoza revealed during a hearing at the House of Representatives that some P200 million in UN funds ended up in a private bank account and that P50 million was missing.

Mendoza was head of the team commissioned by then Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo to audit military funds in 2004. She said the involvement of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia in the alleged diversion of the UN fund was clear.

“DFA officials are talking about this but we have not received formal communication from the UN headquarters after this came out,” a DFA official, who asked not to be named, said.

“The UN pays directly to the AFP but there’s no DFA involvement. They just give us a copy of disbursements,” the official said.

“The DFA takes its duty very seriously to ensure that the Philippine government’s interactions with the United Nations are above board and consistent with the high standards with which we have always conducted ourselves as a founding member of the world body,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Eduardo Malaya said.

He added that the DFA is reviewing its records and is ready to cooperate with any investigating body.

The DFA had tried but failed to convince the AFP to withdraw or at least hold off its decision to slash the peacekeepers’ allowance by as much as 45 percent. Despite the cut, first implemented in 2006, Filipino soldiers and policemen continue to volunteer for UN peacekeeping missions in droves.

The Philippines has more than 1,000 peacekeepers serving UN missions in Liberia, Haiti, Darfur, Golan Heights, Sudan, Timor Leste and Cote d’Iviore.