Bataoil denies channeling funds to ghost group
COA REPORT ON PDAF SCAM
PANGASINAN Second District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil flatly denied he channeled his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to a bogus organization contrary to what the Commission on Audit has claimed and reported to the national media.
Unperturbed by the COA report, Mr. Bataoil maintained that since his PDAF-funded projects were implemented in full transparency, he has nothing to fear and nothing to worry about the outcome of an investigation.
He was implicated as one of the 44 lawmakers that misused his PDAF fund specifically to a supposedly non-existent Non-Government Organization “Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Foundation through the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).
Pangasinan Second District Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil tells local newsmen he “has nothing to fear and worry about” on COA report about his P4.4- million and other lawmakers’ alleged pork fund misuse.
“There was a need for our Muslim community in the district to be cared for and assisted with their livelihood so that they won’t be marginalized. Having been in Mindanao when I was in the military and police service, it pained me to see them struggling for a living in many places in the country… so I programmed P4.4 million for their livelihood,” Mr. Bataoil explained in an interview with local newsmen Thursday during the KBP Forum in Dagupan City.
He said his proposed program for the Muslims was endorsed by DBM when it issued a Special Allotment Release Order for the purpose in favor of the implementing agency NCMF.
NCMF has implementing partners (non-government organizations) for projects like cosmetology, fish processing and wellness to augment their income, especially the women, Mr. Bataoil, who is now on his second term of office, pointed out.
He maintained that it should be the implementing agency that must be made to account for the proper implementation of his PDAF-funded project.
“I have been consistent in my stand that there should be no ghost project in my district and any project in my district should be properly implemented by the agencies concerned,” Mr. Bataoil added, even as he said he is prepared to call for an investigation of the implementing agency to validate the COA report.
Mr. Bataoil said the Commission on Audit (COA) should properly validate, and should not be quick to generalize in its conclusion because it unfairly made guilty by perception.
“I am confident that further validation of the project implementation in my district will render us a clean bill of performance,” he said.
Mr. Bataoil said he and his fellow congressmen were surprised about the report, adding that they will make an individual reply on this matter.
He lamented that he has not received a notice from COA for that project and instead he only learned about it in media reports. (Tita Roces/ Johanne Macob/Leonardo Micua)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
