The Office of the President has started to craft the guidelines on the efficient use of unused donations by a Lopez-owned corporation flagged by the Commission on Audit.
The President’s office is also looking into the efforts to address other findings raised by the commission in its latest report, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
“As per the Office of the Executive Secretary, the Office of the President is already working on the guidelines and studying how to best address the findings of the Commission on Audit, which include how donations will be effectively and efficiently utilized,” Roque said in a statement.
The commission had earlier called the attention of the office over the unused P1.4-billion donation from Benpres Corporation that was made several years ago. The alleged irregular foreign travels made by some Palace executives were also questioned by the state auditors.
The donation, made in 1990 by Benpres Corporation, now known as the Lopez Holdings Corporation, could have been spent for economic development projects and assistance to calamity-hit communities, among other things, according to the commission. It made the same observation in the 2018 audit report on the Office of the President.
The commission also questioned the office over the irregular foreign travels of some officials.
In its recent report, the commission likewise raised concern over Duterte’s office for allowing some government officials to travel abroad even if the requests were made less than the prescribed period before their dates of departure.