Former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Mar Roxas did not let pass moves to resurrect an old Commission on Audit (COA) report flagging the use of funds by his former office, saying this was meant to divert attention from the controversies the current administration is facing.
“Lahat ito ay mga palusot lang, mga dibersyon, mga pangdadrama lang para malipat ang atensyon ng tao sa hindi nila masagot,” Roxas said in a report on “24 Oras.”
“‘Yan naman parati ang modus operandi nila, ‘di ba? ‘Pag hindi na sila makasagot, kung hindi na nila alam ang gagawin, kung hindi nila maipaliwanag, o ano? Ilabas natin si Mar Roxas,” he added.
On Tuesday night, Duterte chided Roxas and Senator Leila de Lima for old COA reports on supposed unliquidated funds of the DILG and the Department of Justice.
Duterte said the DILG had an unliquidated fund transfer in December 2014, while the DOJ, then headed by De Lima, had an unliquidated cash advance in 2013.
“Pamumulitika lang ito eh. Wala naman ito sa sustansya ng dapat na inaatupag ng gobyerno,” Roxas said.
Meanwhile, de Lima, who is currently detained on drug-related charges, said Duterte raising the issue “is a clear case of misdirection.”
In 2014, the DOJ denied accumulating P617.44 million in unliquidated cash advances. It clarified that the unliquidated cash advances only amounted to P890,000.
Further, COA in 2014 said as of December 31, 2014, the accumulated worth of unliquidated fund transfers of the DILG had already reached P7.040 billion.
The Liberal Party in 2016 said the liquidation of the amount cited in the COA report is the responsibility of concerned LGUs and not the DILG.
Recently, Duterte slammed COA for flagging the Department of Health over the use of its COVID-19 funds.—Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News
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