President Rodrigo R. Duterte vowed to account for all the government expenditures and transactions in its response against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
He made the announcement in his public address on Monday amid concerns that public funds are being lost to corrupt practices during the crisis because of the recent reported anomalies in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
“I will hold myself responsible for this sole and solemn duty of answering for and in behalf of the executive department of all the funds that were spent in the fight against Covid,” Duterte said.
To ensure the public will be able to keep track of the said expenditures, he ordered all concerned government agencies to regularly release reports on the funds they used for their Covid-related measures.
“So they must prepare well in advance because I would require them to publish in the newspaper, in three newspapers of general circulation,” Duterte said.
Among the agencies covered by the instruction PhilHealth, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Oversight committee
Duterte also called on Congress to create an oversight committee to monitor the use of public funds during the pandemic.
He said he is ready to instruct members of the Cabinet to present regular reports to the said committee.
“I’m ready to order that. It is not a matter of separation of powers.This is just like an expanded oversight… It is never illegal to know where your money is going,” Duterte said.
However, he noted this may “cost a lot of time for the bureaucracy.”
Duterte stressed the reported anomalies in PhilHealth is not related to the government’s anti-Covid measures, which he maintains is free from any irregularities.
PhilHealth is currently being investigated by an inter-agency task force led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as by the Senate and House of Representatives because of the alleged anomalies in its operations.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza