AQUINO ORDERS RELEASE OF UNSPENT DISASTER FUNDS — AS BONUSES

Residents walk through debris and toppled power lines in Tacloban City, Leyte province, central Philippines on November 10, 2013, three days after devastating Typhoon Haiyan hit the city on November 8. The death toll from a super typhoon that decimated entire towns in the Philippines could soar well over 10,000, authorities warned on November 10, making it the country's worst recorded natural disaster. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE — Residents walk through debris and toppled power lines in Tacloban City, Leyte province, central Philippines on November 10, 2013, three days after devastating Typhoon Haiyan hit the city on November 8. The death toll from a super typhoon that decimated entire towns in the Philippines could soar well over 10,000, authorities warned on November 10, making it the country’s worst recorded natural disaster. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – President NoyNoy Aquino today ordered the immediate release of P384 Million in unspent disaster donations following a damning report from the Commission on Audit (COA).

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has kept the donations stashed in its bank account instead of promptly distributing the money to finance the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of calamities and disasters, COA said.

In the 2014 report released recently, COA said the funds have been accumulating since 2008 because of its low utilization rate of only 17.39 percent.

Financial records showed only P81 million of P466 million was spent during the last six years, thus leaving an unutilized balance of P384 million.

State auditors said the biggest chunk of the money totaling P137 million was received by the OCD from various government agencies and other sources for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda, which devastated the country in November 2013.

Angered by the report, Aquino said funds intended for disaster relief should never be held for a long time in the government’s treasury. “We in government are mere custodians of the funds, not the beneficiaries,” he told reporters at press briefing in Malcañang.

“Therefore, I am ordering the OCD to surrender the unspent funds to the national treasury which, in turn, will immediately be released in the form of Christmas bonuses (13th month pay) to all elected and appointed government officials and employees who voted for me and the Liberal Party (LP) in the 2010 presidential elections.”

“Those who switched political parties and are no longer registered under LP will forfeit their bonus,” Aquino added.

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