Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Sen. Miram Defensor-Santiago wants her colleagues to investigate the hundreds of millions of pesos in donations which the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) failed to disburse for victims of super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.
In a statement on Friday (September 18), Santiago said she was set to file a resolution on Monday (September 21) based on the recently released Commission on Audit (COA) that almost half a billion pesos in donations for typhoon victims were either kept in bank accounts or used to buy relief goods that were left undistributed.
“The purpose of donations is defeated if funds sit idly in government bank accounts,” Santiago said.
“The DSWD is not only denying disaster victims of much-needed assistance, they are also misusing money from donors and taxpayers.”
The COA noted that P382.072 million in local and foreign donations for Yolanda victims remained in DSWD bank accounts by the end of 2014.
The agency also had P141.084 million worth of undistributed and expired or near-expiry food packs.
Santiago agreed with the COA that the DSWD was remiss in accepting hundreds of millions in donations without making the necessary adjustments in its warehousing facilities and number of personnel.
The senator also wants the DSWD probed for failing to hit its target of providing emergency shelter assistance to 468,732 homeless beneficiaries.
The COA claimed that the agency only provided shelter to 142,348 beneficiaries, spending P3 billion in the process.
For its part, the DSWD said on Saturday (September 19) that it welcomed Santiago’s move as an opportunity to clear the issues.
“We are ready to face Sen. Santiago anytime for an investigation. We are not hiding anything. In fact, we thank Senator Santiago for this because she is giving us the best platform to explain all the alleged controversies,” Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said in a statement.
