TWO kinds of taxes to be collected by the government and amounting to billions of pesos, as provided for by national laws, were reported by the Commission on Audite (COA) to be missing or unaccounted for. The accumulated funds from the implementation of the two laws would total almost P90 billion for one, and P63 billion for the other.
It is quite interesting that the two measures have been implemented for years, or were allowed to exist, without anyone minding the purpose for their being until they accumulated to become the enormous amount they have grown into now. No wonder that they have become attractive enough to invite some people to try to spend the money somewhere else.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III revealed the other day that he would file a bill seeking to abolish the Road Board. The Road Board is an office that is now being accused of illegally diverting billions of pesos intended for use in constructing special roads. The money is an accumulated collection as road users’ fund, but used some other ways.
The senator says that the road users’ fund is another money item that is not being fully utilized for the purpose. The law created the Road Board to handle the road users’ tax share. Now it was proposed that the fund should be re-channeled to much needed infrastructure projects and health and social services programs.
Another similarly situated amount the government had set aside earlier is the highly desired program called the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program. Sen. Francis Escudero would like to have the P63 billion set aside for the purpose being fully accounted for. The fund has been in AFP hands since 2002.
Senator Escudero requested Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to submit to him a full accounting report on how the amount was used. The Senate Finance Committee chairman said he wants to know how it was spent, what the procurement did to the AFP and how the military condition has changed (essentially for the better?) because of it.
The money, of course, was sourced from the general appropriations fund (P41.832 billion) and from the Bases Conversion Development Authority remittances. One billion peso came from the Malampaya fund; P6.59 billion from the Department of Energy; P909.98 million from interests and income and P92.438 million from the government arsenal.
For his part, Senator Escudero asked the question: “Why is our military still in a sorry state after P63 billion? With this money, we get to ask: Is the Filipino soldier better? Are our soldiers better equipped? Are they better trained? Is their inherent bravery boosted by the purchased arsenal?
Affirming the similarity of both government offices on how they have been using the two tax measures of the government. Both agencies were practically playing with the people’s taxes in billions of pesos, but millions of our citizens did not seem to care.