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Friday, March 29, 2024

PRC told: Open books or suffer funding cut

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President Rodrigo Duterte has urged Senator Richard Gordon to open the financial records of the Philippine Red Cross for thorough scrutiny by the Commission on Audit or he would stop funding PRC.

“Either you submit to an auditing procedure or we quarrel. If we quarrel, do your worst because I will do mine,” Duterte said in a pre-recorded Talk to the People aired Saturday morning.

The President said he is ready for a long legal battle if that is what it would take for COA to audit PRC’s financial records.

“I do not care. I will not give funding to the PRC. As far as I’m concerned, the Red Cross does not exist. You can create a controversy there or a crisis, I do not mind because as I said, I am on the right track,” he said.

“If you are operating here and you receive the money and spend it, you are accountable to the government and therefore an audit is in order.”

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“I said this will involve a long, legal battle but I am prepared to go into it and really demand the accountability of Senator Gordon and all of them in the Red Cross to account for the money that was given by the government of the Philippines for the longest time,” Duterte added.

Duterte has been criticizing the senator for several days now as the Blue Ribbon Committee led by Gordon began probing the government’s procurement of medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemi.

Duterte warned he might be forced to cut the government’s ties with PRC if Gordon rejects his call to allow the humanitarian organization to undergo a state audit.

“Now, if you don’t agree to it, I would be forced to totally disassociate with you. I will stop the national government and all from having transactions with you in any manner,” he said.

Malacañang earlier said COA can conduct a special audit on PRC’s finances, citing Article 9 of the 1987 Constitution which provides that the state auditing body has the power to examine on a post-audit-basis all accounts “receiving subsidy or equity, directly or indirectly, from or through the government.”

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