Manila, Philippines – A former Bulacan provincial official has asked the Commission on Audit (CoA) to conduct a special audit of the reportedly misspent calamity fund expenditures of the province. In a letter to CoA Chairwoman Maria Gracia Pulido Tan, former board member Teofilo Rivera said the appeal for the conduct of a special audit was triggered by calls from various local and barangay groups that received reports of irregularities in the expenditures.
Rivera pointed out that on the onset of floods from typhoon “Pedring,“ it was private groups and organizations that were giving relief to the affected areas and not the provincial government. He said there were confirmed reports that some barangays did not receive relief goods at all. Rivera noted that the municipalities of Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Paombong were only adjacent to the provincial capitol and yet relief goods took as long as several days to reach flood victims. (Ben R. Rosario)