Senator Win Gatchalian yesterday threw his support to the call of the Commission on Audit to investigate the alleged anomalous use of P36.288 billion in Malampaya royalties between 2004 and 2012. He said the Malampaya funds are meant to be used in building a brighter future for the Philippine energy sector and that their misuse will put that future in jeopardy. The CoA earlier declared “not proper” the releases of funds by the Department of b.jdget and Management out of the Malampaya Fund, to the different implementing agencies. It urged the DBM to thoroughly evaluate the “actual needs” of the agencies requesting the Malampaya Funds and ensure the completeness of their documents first. “Obviously, the past administrations used the Malampaya funds like a secret campaign kitty and a reserve pork barrel.

Source: The Standard November 03, 2017 14:03 UTC