By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Senate is seeking a definitive list from the Commission on Audit (COA) of flood control projects it has identified as fraudulent or substandard, as lawmakers move to determine which infrastructure works can proceed and which should be scrapped.
Sen. JV Ejercito, chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee, said Thursday that the audit findings are needed before the government resumes projects that have come under scrutiny for alleged irregularities.
“We asked them for their cooperation as we resumed the flood control projects,” Ejercito said in an ambush interview.
Ejercito said the Senate specifically wants COA to identify projects that its ongoing fraud audits have determined to be fraudulent or substandard.
“We would need a list of projects sa investigation nila that are fraudulent or substandard para at least alam natin kung which projects can be completed, yung pwede ituloy at hindi pwede ituloy,” he said.
The senator said the list would allow lawmakers and implementing agencies to separate projects that can still be completed from those that should no longer proceed.
COA has been conducting fraud audits on flood control projects amid continuing scrutiny of government-funded infrastructure works.
Ejercito also disclosed that the Senate has asked concerned government agencies to clarify the joint circular governing confidential and intelligence funds and consider adopting clearer rules and safeguards.
The move comes amid controversies over the use of confidential and intelligence funds.
Meanwhile, Ejercito said the Senate may begin holding budget hearings simultaneously with plenary sessions as early as next week, as lawmakers race to accommodate the proposed national budget alongside the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
He said the arrangement presents a major scheduling challenge because senators and government agencies are being required to attend several proceedings at the same time.
“Very, it’s really a challenge,” Ejercito said.
“Extraordinary talaga itong time na ito because of the impeachment and the plenary and the ongoing budget hearings.”
Ejercito said he had asked committee vice chairs to follow, as much as possible, the schedules to be issued by the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) and the Senate Finance Committee.
He acknowledged that senators could be forced to move between budget hearings and plenary sessions when votes are suddenly called.
The senator clarified that the simultaneous hearings and plenary sessions would be implemented by the Finance Committee because of the exceptional circumstances confronting the Senate.
Ejercito also raised concerns that the proposed nearly two-week marathon schedule for the impeachment proceedings could substantially affect the Senate’s budget deliberations.
“Dalawa yung choice natin, tapusin yung impeachment or magka-reenacted budget tayo,” Ejercito said.
He said senators are working to fit the budget deliberations around the impeachment and plenary schedules, stressing that the chamber does not want Congress to end up operating under a reenacted budget.
“We do not want a reenacted budget as well,” Ejercito said.
ia/xf
