Redundancy

In 2000, Republic Act 8794 imposed a motor vehicle user’s charge or MVUC on all types of motor vehicles, to be used exclusively for road maintenance and improvement of road drainages, installation of adequate and efficient traffic lights and road safety devices, and for air pollution control.

It also created a Road Board supposedly to prudently and efficiently manage and utilize the collections. The seven-man board is composed of the public works secretary, who serves as the ex-officio head, and the finance, budget and transportation secretaries as ex-officio members. The remaining three come from transport and motorist organizations.

At least P10 billion is collected every year by the Land Transportation Office from registering vehicles. Unfortunately, the monies collected have been misused and abused over the years, according to the Commission on Audit. Several attempts to investigate the malefactors have fizzled out and nobody has been held accountable so far. From 2001 to 2012, it is said that around P90.7 billion in collections went down the drain.

Now, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez wants the Road Board abolished for its failure to ensure the prudent and judicious use of the road users’ tax. Instead, the fund will be appropriated to the DPWH, DOTr and DENR to allow for accountability and transparency.

Alvarez has said that from 2004 to 2008, around P515 million was used for payment of salaries, allowances, maintenance and other operating expenses. The COA has also questioned discrepancies in the amount remitted to the national treasury, irregularities in the use, among others. Non-priority projects have also been financed without basis.

The job of the Road Board can easily be performed by the DPWH, DOTr and the DENR. It is about time that it is abolished.

Tip of the iceberg

Indeed, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

When the hearings by the House Committee on Good Government and Accountability, chaired by Rep. Johnny Pimentel, resumed last week involving the alleged illegal use of tobacco funds by the Ilocos Norte provincial government, more irregularities surfaced.

The six provincial government officials who were earlier cited for contempt and detained had already admitted they were aware of documents showing that the provincial government, with the approval of Governor Imee Marcos, illegally purchased 115 vehicles using cash advances from the province’s share of the excise tax from Virginia tobacco.

But there was more.

On top of the illegal vehicle purchases, it was discovered that more unauthorized cash advances were approved by Marcos on her watch amounting to P26 million in 2012 alone and that there could be a conspiracy with retired COA resident auditor Rizalino Franco, after House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas found out that Franco was receiving P20,000 a month in consultancy fee from the provincial government.

Questionable purchases using P26 million in cash advances were for medicines and insecticide, a portrait bust sculpture and services for the Paoay Museum, materials and installation of precast concrete for Paseo de Paoay, and fertilizer, among others.

The purchases are said to violate COA rules which require that all disbursements should be made by check, except otherwise provided, and limit the instances when cash payments can be made.

Fariñas said Ilocos Norte, under Marcos, does not deserve the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) that it had received from the DILG, one of the criteria of which is that there should be no adverse audit report.

The purchases may also have violated Republic Act 7171 which provides that Virginia tobacco-producing provinces that get a share of the excise taxes on locally produced Virginia cigarettes can only use the funds for programs that benefit tobacco farmers, such as livelihood, cooperative, agro-industrial and infrastructure projects.

Marcos attended the earlier July 25 hearing after the committee threatened to cite her for contempt and to detain her although she first went to the Supreme Court to attempt to stop the investigation. She later claimed she had forgotten details of the questioned transactions, but insisted COA had cleared the vehicle purchases.

Estafa raps

The scion of a prominent family in Dagupan is facing estafa charges for allegedly duping a group into investing in a company that would sell and distribute Phoenix Petroleum motor oils and lubricants.

Accused Marvin Lim, has posted a cash bond of P80,000 pending resolution of the criminal cases filed by his alleged victim, Half Moon Inc. (HMI). His sister Brigette Mae Lim also posted bail, but it is not known whether the other accused Gian Marlo Lee was able to do so.

Makati City Prosecutor Jorge Catalan Jr. have cleared the other accused Charlene Tiu and Danica Abrencillo of complicity in the fraud for insufficiency of evidence. He, however, said there was probable cause to charge Marvin, Brigette and Lee for two counts of estafa.

It was alleged that in 2015, Lee approached HMI with a proposal for partnership in Alpha Dragon Trade and Marketing Corp. on a 60-40 basis, in favor of Marvin. HMI gave P16 million for its share of the required paid-up capitalization, only to find out later that Alpha’s authorized paid-up capital was only P10 million.

In July 2016, Marvin et. al. advised HMI of the need to invest more to bankroll Alpha Dragon’s purported operational expansion, and even presented a letter to this effect by Phoenix sales manager Ruben Lanot II. HMI gave a P5-million check to Tiu.

HMI later asked for certain documents, including official receipts for its subscription payments totaling P21.625 million, other accounting and financial records, which the accused could not furnish. The complainant also wanted to know who the Alpha board of directors, and why no stockholders’ meeting was ever called. Again, no response.

HMI lawyers later discovered that the SEC papers have been amended and HMI was no longer listed as a shareholder.

It was claimed that a Jan. 16 letter from Marvin’s camp rejected HMI’s claim of part ownership in Alpha Dragon, as well as all demands including request for access to records.

On Marvin’s defense that HMI’s payments were loans listed as liabilities of Alpha, the City Prosecutor’s Office noted that no person in his right mind would infuse P21 million if the said amount would only be listed in the financial records as a mere liability, without being secured by any collateral.

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