Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said he may consider asking the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council to explain the P5 million it allegedly diverted to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.
Panelo, however, admitted that he has yet to read the Commission on Audit report, but will consider writing the HUDCC asking the agency to explain the reason for this fund diversion.
“First, I want to see the COA findings and then maybe I will write HUDCC regarding it,” Panelo told reporters in an interview after a Palace briefing.
In an audit report, the COA found that HUDCC signed a memorandum of agreement with the NCMF, transferring the amount to the agency to fund a 2018 Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
COA has pointed out the amount was taken from the P500-million fund from the Office of the President which it allocated to HUDCC for Marawi City rehabilitation projects.
It noted that the purpose of the fund transfer was “not among the authorized expenses enumerated in the original MOA between OP and HUDCC.”
Panelo, who is also Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, said that if the COA audit report is true, then HUDCC could face raps for technical malversation.
“That would be technical malversation kung totoo. Hindi pa natin alam (if it’s true. But we don’t know that yet),” Panelo said.
“We’ll ask the HUDCC to explain kung totoo yun o hindi (if it’s true or not). But I think they will already explain kasi [because] COA has raised it,” he added.
As this developed, the National Housing Authority is already 36 percent on target of building temporary or transitory shelters for the victims of Marawi siege in May 2017.
Roderick Ibañez, Project Management Office head from Region 10 head, said a total of 1,763 temporary shelters were put up out of the 6,932 target since November 2017.
“After seven months, we are on target. By December this year, about 3,000 more transitory houses would be built and we would be able to complete our target second quarter next year,” he said.
A temporary shelter has a size of 24-square meter lying in a 32-square meter lot with one bedroom worth P200,000.
Ibañez said 2,000 permanent shelters would be built in 2019 to be funded by San Miguel Corp.
A permanent house has three bedrooms with garage worth P500,000 to P650,000.
The NHA official said temporary and permanent shelters would be built outside the most affected areas.
Debris-clearing operations inside the most affected areas would be finished by August, he added.
“Transitory and permanent shelters are for free, but their rebuilding of their edifices inside the most affected areas is at their expense,” he said.
According to the NHA, a condominium for low-wage government employees would be built inside a 92-hectare compound just a few kilometers from the most affected areas.
Government has allocated P2.72 billion for housing construction and land acquisition.
At least 15,727 families have been displaced by the Marawi siege.
The NHA said not all of them have signified the interest to avail of the housing projects.
The Marawi siege was a five-month long armed conflict in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur between government troops and ISIS-led rebels that started on May 23, 2017. With PNA