Escudero: Gov’t must account for all calamity assistance
Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is pushing for a bill mandating the full accounting of disaster relief or donations received by the national government for natural and human-induced calamities.
In filing Senate Bill No. 278 or the proposed “Donation Transparency Act,” Escudero cited the public clamor for transparency and accountability in the utilization of the monetary and nonmonetary assistance received from foreign and local beneficiaries.
He added that this calls for proactive action from the Commission on Audit.
Escudero mentioned the country’s experience during Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) in 2013, when an outpouring of support in the form of cash and in-kind donations were directed to the Philippines by both local and foreign donors.
He said that no single agency in the government had sole possession and knowledge of the total amount of local and foreign donations received by the country.
Partial documentation
According to Escudero, the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub or FAITH, an online information portal created by the national government, captured only the foreign aid pledged and received for Yolanda victims.
“It does not include the foreign or local donations that were deposited directly to the accounts of various departments or agencies, or the foreign or local donations received directly by the affected local government units,” he said in the explanatory note of his proposed bill.
“The findings indicated the need to institutionalize, preferably through legislation, a mechanism for the monitoring and accounting of all foreign and local donations for natural and manmade calamities,” Escudero stressed.
His proposed measure shall cover all foreign and local donations directed to the national government, government-owned or -controlled corporations and local government units from all sources such as foreign governments, bilateral or multilateral organizations and institutions, and private individuals or groups.
Under the bill, all cash donations shall be deposited under the account of the Bureau of Treasury.
In no case shall the cash donation be used for payment of personal services of any government agency or instrumentality, or any other expenses not related to disaster relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts, according to the measure.
In addition, donations from foreign governments, whether in cash or in kind, shall be subject to prior clearance and approval of the Office of the President upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The DFA shall likewise submit to the Office of Civil Defense a report on all pledges made by foreign governments, bilateral or multilateral organizations and institutions, private foreign individuals or groups to the Philippine government for disaster relief, aid or rehabilitation.
