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Bill abolishing PITC filed in House


House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday sought the abolition of the Philippine International Trading Corp., which is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.

In filing House Bill 10221, the Cagayan de Oro City lawmaker said the agency has been hounded by issues and controversies, including the transfer of P11 billion from 2014 to 2020 by various source agencies.

“These transfers were made to increase the budget utilization rate of government agencies, as funds transferred to the PITC are considered obligated and disbursed already,” Rodriguez said.

He said there were also reports that source agencies were supposedly using the interest earnings of billions they turn over to the PITC for bonuses and other emoluments.

Rodriguez also said the PITC was established under Presidential Decree No. 252 to pursue trade with socialist and other centrally planned economy countries. He said the trade liberalization and the passage of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, have made the PITC irrelevant and redundant.

The proposed measure mandates the DTI to take over the functions of the PITC once abolished. Those affected personnel would be paid separation or retirement benefits, the bill stated. 

Meanwhile, the funds transferred to the PITC, which have remained unused, would be returned to the source agencies, it added.

Earlier, Rodriguez called for the abolition of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), which has faced similar allegations of fund transfer and procurement irregularities.—AOL, GMA News

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