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The government had spent more than P1 billion for foreign travels last year, which is almost equivalent to the anti-poverty fund allotted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) this year.
October 30, 2008Citing annual reports from the Commission on Audit, GMA News Research found out that the Arroyo government has exceeded its yearly allotted budget for foreign travels amounting to P472 million.
In her report in GMA News’ 24 Oras, Kara David said the government’s expenses for foreign trips last year had doubled despite President Arroyo’s Executive Order 103. EO 103, issued in 2004, bars government officials from traveling abroad without her authorization.
The television report said the Office of the President, with P588.49 million, had the biggest chunk of the P1.2 billion spent on foreign travels last year.
Next to the OP were the Department of Foreign Affairs with P235.8 million; Department of Tourism, P63 million; Presidential Broadcast Staff, P44.2 million; Department of Trade and Industry, P34 million; Armed Forces of the Philippines, P27.7 million; Office of the Press Secretary, P24.7 million; Department of Agriculture, P19.5 million; Department of Labor and Employment, P13.9 million; and the House of Representatives, P12.6 million.
The P1.2 billion spent for the government’s foreign is almost equivalent to the budget allotted this year by the Department of Education for its school building program, which amounts to P1.7 billion, as reflected in the 2008 General Appropriations Act, the report said.
Likewise, last year’s expenditures for foreign travel is almost equivalent to the P1.3 billion budget allotted by the DSWD to its hunger and anti-poverty program.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, however, defended the officials’ foreign trips, saying they did it mainly to invite investors to the country.
“The more you travel, the more benefit dapat ang makuha ng gobyerno (the government should get) from your travel. You look at the point of investment,” Andaya said.
Andaya also said savings from local travels was used to finance the foreign trips, and that government officials usually travel in economy class and that allowance or per diem is based on the guidelines set by the United Nations Development Program.
The government’s annual budget for local and foreign travels is P6.7 billion.
The issue on foreign travels of government officials came to light following the controversy surrounding eight ranking officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who recently attended a conference in Russia.
One of them, retired PNP comptroller Eliseo dela Paz, was briefly held in Moscow airport for failing to declare P6.9 million. The PNP said the money was the contingency fund of the delegation, but its real source is yet to be known. - GMANews.TV
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