PIDS: P660 million from DAP not dormant

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) clarified on Friday that it can account for the P660 million fund allocated to the agency through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). 

 

This, after Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed a resolution calling for an investigation on DAP money that remains unspent and unaccounted for, according to the 2013 Annual Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA). 

 

In a press statement, PIDS president Gilbert Llanto explained that the amount did not go entirely to the agency. He said there were two fund releases for the P660 million. 

 

The first release was P560 million on June 20, 2012. P504 million of the amount went to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for projects of the state universities and colleges (SUCs) while P56 million went to PIDS for policy research.

 

He also said that 29, not 25, SUCs have benefited from those funds. 

 

The second release of P100 million was on August 1, 2013 for the purchase of property to house PIDS offices. 

 

No 'dormant' funds

 

Llanto has also stressed that the P213 million that has allegedly lain dormant in Landbank accounts has already been earmarked for specific projects. 

 

He said that P194.2 million was with CHED, while P19.2 million was with PIDS.

 

He also said that the COA report did not label these funds as dormant. 

 

COA did not ask PIDS to return interest earnings on these "dormant" funds either, he said.

The think tank did not claim that it deposits in non-interest bearing accounts, Llanto said. COA also knows that the accrued interest of the remaining balance in PIDS custody is P1,147,798.90 as of June 30, 2014.

 

Llanto also said that it is CHED that has a non-interest bearing account with Landbank. 

 

The total of P297 million in unliquidated funds has also been released by CHED to various SUCs and can been accounted for, he said.

The PSID president said that a total of P82.1 million has been liquidated by the SUCs as of June 30, 2014.

 

'Bad land investment' tag unwarranted 

 

The PIDS president also commented on the alleged P100 million "bad land investment" on a lot owned by the National Housing Agency, saying the transaction was "clean, legal, and transparent."

He said that PSID undertook the necessary due diligence before purchasing a tiny portion of the 3.7 hectares occupied by the Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC) in good faith.

Currently, PSID is in the process of getting the land title and registering with the Register of Deeds in Quezon City. 

 

He also clarified that PCMC signed a conforme to NHA's letter dated July 15, 2013 informing the medical center that the lot was awarded to PIDS. — Trisha Macas/JDS, GMA News