Former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo on Tuesday denied that she diverted the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program funds to support the communist New People’s Army, calling reports received by President Rodrigo Duterte as “baseless accusations.”
“For the record and for the President’s own awareness, not a single peso of the 4Ps program passed through my hands. The program funds are directly coursed through the LandBank and its conduits who then make direct payout to the Pantawid beneficiaries. These transactions are recorded and CoA regularly audits this program,” she said.
“I have done my best as a member of the President’s Cabinet and his government and served the people with humility and full transparency. The least I asked of him is to not legitimize baseless accusations against me.” she added.
Taguiwalo said it is clear that the insinuations are being made to pass off as justifications for the rejection of her appointment by the President’s allies in the House of Representatives and the Commission on Appointments.
“Had the President’s allies questioned me regarding this issue during the CA hearings—or even during the congressional deliberations on the 2018 budget—I would have given them answers that are easily verifiable,”the former DSWD chief said.
Taguiwalo said that there could have been no chance for her to divert funds through the government’s conditional doleout as there have been no other additional beneficiaries aside from families of soldiers.
“When I first arrived in the DSWD, among my first declarations and actions were to say that the 4Ps program would NOT be expanding. This means that the 4.4-million beneficiary-households of the program will not increase. These members are from the Listahanan of DSWD based on a nationwide assessment of the poor. The list was already in place when I became secretary,” she said.
“If there have been any additional members, they are the families of soldiers killed in action or those who have been wounded in action who have children aged zero to 18. This is in compliance with the President’s order,”she added.
Taguiwalo reiterated that she has kept faith with the President’s instructions to ensure that DSWD provide prompt service to the poor regardless of political affiliation and without any tinge of corruption.
Citing reports that could not be immediately verified independently, Duterte had said there were insinuations that the bulk of the money supposedly intended for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) was given to the New People’s Army, which wages an all-out war against government forces.
But he said there were anxieties the money was used to buy bullets or firearms, following the pronouncement of Jose Maria Sison, the exiled leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, that the communists were expanding their ranks and recruiting new members.
Although Duterte said he was only citing reports about the allegation surrounding the use of Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino (4Ps) to support the NPA, Taguiwalo took exception to the issue.
Duterte however, insisted that he does not believe the allegations made against Taguiwalo, who was recently rejected by the powerful Commission on Appointments.
Taguiwalos’s rejection by the CA was also reportedly tied with her refusal to requests of some lawmakers to use a chunk of DSWD funds for their “pork barrel.”
There were also reports that military and police generals were behind her ouster as cabinet member, including other leftists such as Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Rafael Mariano who is next to face his last chance of getting CA’s nod.
Meanwhile, President Duterte reiterated on Tuesday that he never believed in allegations that Taguiwalo diverted the 4Ps funds to support the NPA.
“Hindi galing sa akin ‘・un. Otherwise, I would not have re-appointed and re-appointed her,”・the President said in his speech before newly appointed government officials in Malacanang.
“Secretary Taguiwalo, you are barking at the wrong tree. That is what I told the military. I’m not so concerned about money reaching the hands of the NPAs,”Duterte said, responding to the former DSWD Secretary’s call not to believe in “baseless accusations.”・
The President however, said that envelopes intended for the government’s conditional cash transfer program were seen at NPA camps.
He appealed to the NPA “not to use government funds to purchase bullets or firearms.
“Ang akin lang sana huwag kang magbili ng bala pati baril. But sa liit naman ng bagay na ‘・an ibigay mo sa mga mahirap. May panahon pa ba sila na mag-isip niyan?”
