IBON: Corruption scandals under Arroyo cost Filipinos P7.3B

MANILA, Philippines - Corruption scandals in the last seven years under the Arroyo administration have cost Filipinos at least P7.3 billion, according to militant think tank IBON Foundation Tuesday. In a statement, IBON said with six corruption scandals so far, including the $329.48-million ZTE broadband network scam, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has become the most corrupt president the country has ever had. "President Gloria Arroyo may indeed be the most corrupt president the country has ever had, based on amounts lost to the Filipino people in just six corruption scandals over her seven years in office," the Ibon statement read. Other scandals under the Arroyo administration were the P728-million fertilizer scam, the Jose Pidal bank accounts, the Northrail project, the $14-million IMPSA power plant project, the P1.3-billion poll automation project, and the Macapagal Boulevard project. IBON said the amount could have been used to provide badly-needed education and health services to millions of impoverished Filipinos. "For example, it could have been used to help the Department of Education (DepEd) bridge its resource gaps of classrooms, textbooks and teachers," it said. Citing DepEd figures, IBON said the DepEd's 2008 budget is still P8.43 billion short to bridge its resource gaps for the year. On the other hand, it said the amount could also have been used to increase subsidies for indigent patients in government hospitals such as the Philippine General Hospital. "These cases also indicate the Arroyo administration's high tolerance for corruption, since none of them has ever been satisfactorily resolved. In fact, the Ombudsman only filed graft and corruption charges against former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez in January 2007 or six years after the charges were made public," it noted. Perez allegedly received a $2-million bribe so that the Department of Justice would give the go-ahead for a $470-million contract to IMPSA for rehabilitation of the CBK hydroelectric plant in Laguna. "Clearly, corruption is inherent in a liberalized backward economy and has greatly benefited the Arroyo administration for the past seven years, while it continues to worsen the incidence of poverty and deny much-needed social services to millions of Filipinos," IBON said. - GMANews.TV