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Trillanes’ plunder rap based on misleading, outdated facts —Red Cross


The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Thursday defended Senator Richard Gordon, after Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a complaint for plunder against its longtime chairman.

PRC Secretary General Oscar Palayab said Trillanes' allegations were based on “misleading and outdated facts.”

He added that Gordon could "very well defend himself and clear his good name.”

“The same issues and allegations that were already duly investigated and settled before are now being raised and appear to be the same issues Senator Antonio Trillanes will rely on his complaint with the Ombudsman. Regrettably the allegations are based on misleading and outdated facts,” Palabyab said.

“We will simply have to restate our position that all those issues have been properly dealt with but are now being sensationalized to the prejudice of the PRC. We can show without fear of contradiction that the PRC remains a trustworthy and dependable humanitarian organization that is committed to save lives and help the most vulnerable and come out clean in the end,” he added.

Trillanes on Wednesday filed a plunder complaint against Gordon over the latter’s alleged corrupt practices as chairman of the PRC.

Trillanes accused Gordon of using his Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) worth P193 million between 2004 to 2011 in favor of Red Cross, saying the lawmaker conspired with his co-accused, former Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang, for the funding of anomalous projects.

Trillanes said these projects were undertaken without the approval of the Red Cross' board of governors and without public budding as mandated by government procurement rules for PDAF-funded programs.

He also claimed that part of the P200-million Red Cross funds were used to fund Gordon's presidential and senatorial campaigns in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

The PRC said it has “accounted for every centavo spent” for all its projects.

Palabyab said the allegations of Trillanes pertain to the projects that their organization undertook as an implementing agency of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

He said that Gordon “had no participation at all in the implementation of those projects and the disbursement of the funds the PRC received from the DSWD.”

“Now that a case has been filed, we will let the wheels of justice take its own course while we in the PRC will continue undeterred with our mission as a humanitarian organization committed to save lives, help the most vulnerable and restore their dignity,” he said. —NB, GMA News

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