Drilon to PITC: Return unused P33 billion to fund COVID-19 vaccine purchase

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday urged the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) to return over P33 billion unused funds in order to finance the government’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Drilon said that the P33.4 billion parked in PITC's accounts meant that the national government agencies had no “immediate and paramount need” for the funds of the projects budgeted under the General Appropriations Act.

The PITC is the state trading firm under the supervision of the Department of Trade and Industry.

“We need funds to finance procurement of vaccines; to address our 6.5 million housing backlogs; to feed 5.5 million of hungry Filipinos; to support to the 4.6 million unemployed Filipinos,” Drilon said in his privilege speech.

“Huwag na po tayong umutang. Isoli na lang po ng PITC ang P33.4 bilyon,” he added.

The senator on Monday said that the latest financial statement as of December 2019 showed that customer’s deposits in PITC grew to P33.4 billion from P4.8 billion in 2015.

Drilon said that the Senate needed "to direct and compel these government agencies to take back their money and for PITC to immediately revert the same to the government coffers.”

“And as directed by COA, PITC must promptly return the unused balances of fund transfers for completed projects to the concerned agencies or the Bureau of Treasury and to stop the practice of utilizing the unused balances from completed projects for other purposes,”  Drilon said.

Review PITC

Drilon also urged the Senate to review the charter of the PITC, saying that national agencies could be using the PITC as a “pawn” to “skirt the end-of-the-year validity of appropriations” and “avoid procurement-related liabilities.”

“The source agency would not be liable for the bid process is not with the head of the procuring entity, but with PITC. Is this a scheme? PITC is being used as a pawn,” Drilon said.

“We must look into the possible reasons why National Agencies Deposits with PITC have grown tremendously over the past five years – from only P4.8 billion in 2015, it grew to P33.4 billion in 2019,” he added.

Citing reports from the Commission on Audit, Drilon said the PITC received P50 million service fees in 2016, P76 million in 2017, P137 million in 2018, and P171 million in 2019.

The PITC was tapped to be the purchasing arm of the state for COVID-19 vaccines that will be bought through loans, the amount of which is tentatively pegged at P20 billion. -Joahna Lei Casilao/NB, GMA News