Dubious NGO cites project in non-existent Sulu town

MANILA, Philippines - Senators Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla, Jr., and Gregorio Honasan II as well as several congressmen gave a total of P396 million to a non-government organization that supported  livelihood projects in non-existent locations,  the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed.

The COA special report on the use Priority Development and Assistance Funds or pork barrel from 2007 to 2009 questioned the activities of a certain Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc. (Pang-FI) which could not be located anymore.

COA said Pang-FI listed among its project sites a non-existent Akbar barangay or town in Sulu.

"Akbar is one of the municipalities of Basilan and not Sulu," the state auditors noted.

The NGO also seemed to be confused between cities or  provinces where its projects were supposedly carried out, as it named sites in "Province of Iloilo City, Province of Bacolod City, and Province of Cebu City."

Pang-FI similarly listed so-called service provider Abjamir Car Rental with a declared address in Bugsukan, Tawi-Tawi City.

"There were no such barangay and city within the Province of Tawi-Tawi," COA said.

These works supposedly covered purchase of farm implements and seeds as well as training and distribution of financial assistance to locals.

Suppliers of such procurements and activities either did not confirm transactions with Pang-FI,could not be located in their given addresses or did not have permits to operate, COA said.

COA similarly found these suppliers' receipts, authorization numbers and tax identifications numbers questionable and conflicting with several supposed businesses having the same registered numbers.

The auditors' selected individual beneficiaries or barangay recipients of the so-called projects also denied having received items and training from the NGO, it added.

"One hundred twenty seven recipients were unknown or unlocated at their given addresses, or have given insufficient addresses," COA said.

"Out of 378 listed recipients, only 42 are registered voters in their respective district," COA also said about another of PangFI's projects.

Even local government leaders in Camiguin, Ilocos Norte and Sulu who supposedly received from Pang-FI were clueless.

"Fifteen municipal mayors who were possible recipients of vermicomposting facilities categorically denied receiving the item," the COA report indicated.

Well-endowed

The P272.57-million projects under Pang-FI were implemented by Zamboanga del Norte Agricultural College Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC), COA said.

The National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) also gave the NGO P33 million while the Technology Livelihood Resource Center (TRC) supposedly implemented P89-million worth of projects through Pang-FI.

The NGO's funds within the years covered came from the pork barrel of the lawmakers listed by total funds given as follows.

Senators

• Jinggoy Estrada - P204.67 million
• Juan Ponce Enrile - P74.69 million
• Gregorio Honasan II - P35.7 million
• Ramon Revilla, Jr. - P9.70 million

Representatives

• Tawi-Tawi Rep. Nur Jaafar - P31.5 million
• Pangasinan Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas - P9.46 million
• Batanes Rep. Carlo Oliver Diasnes - P8.55 million
• Buhay Rep. Rene Velarde - P7.76 million
• Malabon-Navotas Rep. Alvin Sandoval (unseated) - P6.9 million
• Camarines Norte Rep. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato - 3.6 million
• Bulacan Rep. Reylina Nicolas - P3.6 million

Estrada, Velarde, Arenas, Diasness, Nicolas and Jaafar did not reply to COA when asked about the report.

Related story: List of lawmakers with excessive 'pork' from 2007 to 2009

Honasan, Enrile, Revilla and Sandoval, meanwhile, told COA that their signatures in documents from Pang-FI were authentic.

Vinzons-Chato confirmed the project's implementation but said he was still reviewing the said documents as of the publishing date of the COA report.

ZREC, NABCOR and TRC are all government-owned corporations under the Department of Agriculture.

A ghost NGO?

COA found that Pang-FI was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has permit to operate within the auditing period of 2007 to 2009.

Registered addresses of Pangkabuhayan Foundation, Inc. in Sta. Cruz, Manila (left and center) and Old Balara, Quezon City (right). The first is a dilapidated apartment unit while the latter is a townhouse in an executive village without signage. (COA)

After having tracked down the organization in its registered addresses, however, COA found that it no longer occupies the  following locations:

• 11242 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila
• 31 Ignacio Ave., North Susana Executive Village, Old Balara, Quezon City
• 1050 D&E building, Mezzanine Floor. Quezon Avenue cor. Chino Roces Avenue, Quezon City

The Sta. Cruz  address was found to be a "dilapidated apartment" formerly occupied by the NGO's president Petronila Balmaceda.

The Old Balara unit, meanwhile, does not have any NGO signage and is  occupied by a family.

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"The president of the Homeowner's Association, who happened to have the same surname with that of Pang-FI's project coordinator, however, confirmed the existence of Pang-FI within this subdivision," COA noted.

Another NGO occupies the last given address along Quezon Avenue, which Pang-FI reportedly vacated in December 2009.

"The NGO did not also reply to (COA's) request to confirm its transactions and did not submit documents to establish the validity of the transactions and liquidate fund transfers," the report said.