Over P1 trillion misused during Arroyo years - Aquino

MANILA, Philippines - More than P1 trillion from the nation's coffers may have been lost to corruption during the nearly 10-year Arroyo administration, President Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday.

Aquino said officials of the past administration used some mechanisms such as congressional insertions, the Malampaya fund and the reenactment of the national budget to stay in power and amass greater wealth.

He said around P836 billion was misused and the amount may exceed P1 trillion if other questionable budget manipulations and "worthless projects" are included in their estimate.

"Let me reiterate: not less than 836 billion pesos, and perhaps more than one trillion pesos. We wonder: How much was lost, stolen, toyed with, used in transactions just to stay in power? Is it an exaggeration to assume that perhaps this money is still in use today to erode your trust in the straight path?" Aquino said in his speech in an event of the Brotherhood of Christian Business and Professionals in Pasay City.

"Again, let us compare: in the almost ten year-period of the past administration, the average annual budget was around 1 trillion pesos. Is this not appalling—that funds equivalent to the national budget for just one year may have been fallen into their hands, for use wherever they wanted?" Aquino also said.

The President also assured that he has removed "opportunities for corruption" including the misuse of lump sum funds and overimportation of rice.

P23-billion Malampaya Fund misused

The President explained that the misused funds included the P23.33 billion of the Malampaya fund that was allegedly used by the past administration for other purposes when it was intended for energy projects.

He said the Malampaya fund was used like the pork barrel since P3.96 billion went to "priority development projects" in Palawan.

"In other words, the Malampaya fund became much like PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) —used for politics, to pad the pockets of allied lawmakers," said Aquino.

But he claimed that his administration has also stopped the Malampaya misuse as the funds are now being used for projects such as sitio electrification, the enhancement of capacity to guard energy fields, and addressing the energy shortage in Mindanao.