Ridon says Duterte ‘misinformed’ on alleged PCUP junkets

Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) chairperson Terry Ridon on Wednesday said that President Rodrigo Duterte might have been "misinformed" on his alleged "unnecessary junkets" as they were official trips.

In an ANC interview, Ridon defended his travels abroad, which the President had said occurred seven times since he was appointed.

"I think it is clear in all of the travel authorities that probably he (Duterte) was misinformed on the question... That we had gone on junkets and that we had undertaken all of these trips without authority from the President," he added.

On October 2016, Ridon said that he attended the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development with representatives from the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and  National Housing Authority (NHA) which took place in Quito, Ecuador.

"We have discussed their climate resilient housing for the urban poor particularly because the urban poor has always been at the center of the troubles particularly for typhoons and other climate events," Ridon said, adding that the delegation was led by Vice President Leni Robredo who was the former HUDCC chairperson.

Just a month after, Ridon had attended another conference, The 2016 UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco with officials of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and NEDA.

He said that he was with former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez during the said conference.

"Again this is the representation of the urban poor in an international conference is unprecedented in any administration, this is the first time that we have been giving voice really to the urban poor issues in all of these meetings," Ridon said.

Meanwhile, Ridon said that he was the sole representative of the country when he participated in the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development held in New Delhi, India on December 2016.

Asked on why did he have to take all the trips abroad, Ridon said: "Well again these were never solicited by my agency, these were sent to us by other agencies as well for us to attend these conferences."

"If there is an actual invitation and it is relevant to our agency I don't think there's any reason for us to reject such invitation particularly because these are state-led invitations so meaning there needs to have an actual representation by the government," he added.

He stressed that the budget for such official trips are limited and most of it were spent for their accommodations.

"Alam niyo hindi rin naman madali ang buhay sa mga kumperensya no, kasi ano naman ho 'yan, you have a very limited budget," Ridon said.

"In fact, hindi naman ho yan pangshopping shopping, I think a big bulk of all the expenses there would really go to yung mga pambayad lang ho ng accommodations ng aming pong mga pinapadala, so wala hong katotohanan doon sa pasyal pasyal, pasarap po ang buhay doon sa mga ganyang biyahe," he added.

The former lawmaker further defended his other trips abroad including the "Study Tour on Poverty Reduction in China" on August 2017 along with the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), the UN-Habitat high-level meeting with NHA and League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) on September 2017 and the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany which was recently held last month.

"Well I think the locations are irrelevant because UN-Habitat is really an annual meeting on the housing issues undertaken by many countries and I really feel of the issues on the occupation of Kadamay over problematic housing, I think it was really important for us to really deliver at the issues there," Ridon said.

Ridon, who is a former representative of the Kabataan party-list, also refuted claims that he is corrupt.

"Hindi ho, of course we reject it but we respect the President's decision," he said in a television interview.

He said that the President's decision to fire other commissioners of the agency was the "affirmation of the resolve of the President."

"Talagang kung anong pagtingin niya at kung meron siyang nakitang whiff of corruption, talagang sisibakin niya," Ridon said.

Last week, Duterte said in his speech during the 84th anniversary celebration of the Department of Labor and Employment in Malolos, Bulacan that he will fire an entire government commission over allegations of corruption.

This was later on clarified by presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who said that Duterte only intended to fire the officials of the PCUP and not abolish the commission due to some of its officials' unnecessary junkets and for failing to meet as a collegial body.

“We reiterate we are serious about the drive against corruption in government and this latest decision of the President to abolish the PCUP – the PCUP among others for unnecessary junkets of its officials prove beyond doubt that the President is very serious in his anti-corruption campaign,” Roque said.

Ridon, however, said that PCUP was not created as a collegial body.

"Well I'm saying that Harry was incorrect, that this in fact to be fair to the President, he did not mention corruption on this matter, in any of his speeches," he said.

Ridon also remained firm in saying that he "did not fail the nation" and the President as the chair of PCUP, noting that he fulfilled the promise of Duterte of "no demolition, without relocation" among the urban poor communities.

"But I'm certain that there was relocation or financial assistance given to them. Under any president that has not happened," Ridon said. — MDM, GMA News