(BY Christine Herrera, MANILA STANDARD)
THE Aquino government has not released a single peso for victims of typhoon Yolanda because Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman resorted to “double accounting” and claimed credit for P779 million in foreign donations released by the World Food Programme, lawmakers said Sunday.
Reps. Jonathan dela Cruz of Abakada and Terry Ridon of Kabataan demanded that Soliman reveal exactly how much in government funds had been released following a report by the Commission on Audit that said the Social Welfare and Development Department had funds sitting idly in its bank accounts.
They also slammed Soliman for failing to give credit to the WFP’s effort to immediately respond to the needs of the typhoon victims.
“It was kind of rude. At the very least, Soliman should have acknowledged that the government conducted relief and rehabilitation operations ‘in partnership with the World Food Programme.’ There was no mention of WFP in her statement,” Dela Cruz said.
When Soliman did use the acronym WFP in a statement issued by the Palace, she used it to refer to the DSWD’s Work Financial Plan.
“The department explained that the cash donations were used based on the approved Work and Financial Plan (WFP),” the Palace-released statement said.
“According to the WFP, the amount was used for the Core Shelter Assistance Program, Emergency Shelter Assistance where families with totally damaged houses received P30,000 each and those with partially damaged houses got P10,000, Supplemental Feeding Program, and livelihood assistance,” the statement said.
But Dela Cruz insisted that contrary to Soliman’s claims, WFP funded even the conditional cash transfer through the DSWD’s 4Ps program.
“To avoid double accounting and for Soliman to correct her claiming credit from the prestigious World Food Programme, we demand that Soliman make a detailed and full accounting of the donated funds,” Dela Cruz said.
In its Philippines Situation Report #24 dated Feb. 27, 2014, the WFP said it released to the Yolanda-stricken areas, some $88 million in food assistance. It also shouldered some $25 million in telecommunications and $1.7 million in food security costs.
Apart from the DSWD, the WFP said it coursed funds through the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, local government units, United Nations agencies and non-government organizations.
“As of 24 February, WFP has received contributions for the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) response from the following governments: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luzembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States, as well as from the European Commission and the UN CERF fund. Additionally, millions of dollars have been received from generous private donors,” the WFP said in its report.
In contrast to the WFP’s detailed accounting, Soliman could only claim, without providing details, that all the foreign donations had been fully accounted for, Dela Cruz said.
“Where is the full accounting since even the Commission on Audit came out with a report adverse to DSWD?” Dela Cruz said.
“How come also Soliman did not mention which foreign governments donated the funds? Is it because she could not since the funds were coursed through the World Food Programme and not through her DSWD? Then it is only fair and just that the WFP be given credit for what it did for the country,” Dela Cruz said.
In the Palace-issued statement of Soliman, the DSWD clarified that it has “already fully disbursed the P779,486,400.15 local and foreign cash donations it received in December 2013 and that these are fully accounted for.”
