Senator seeks inquiry on ‘anomalous disbursements’ of Malampaya funds

LAWMAKER Sherwin T. Gatchalian has called for a Senate investigation into what he called “anomalous disbursements” worth billions of pesos of Malampaya funds under the past two administrations. “These funds were meant to finance the development of energy resources. Their usage for other purposes, and without following the clear procedural requirements concerning their disbursement, is a serious cause for concern that must be looked into by the government,” said the senator, who also chairs the Senate committee on energy. In a statement, Mr. Gatchalian said he had filed on Tuesday Senate Resolution No. 579, directing the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the release of the Malampaya funds. He said the funds’ release by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) without complete documentary requirements violates Presidential Decree No. 910 Series of 1976, Executive Order No. 683 Series of 2007, DBM-DOE-DOF Joint Circular No. 3 Series of 2008, and other relevant laws and rules and regulations as specified in the Commission on Audit’s Special Report No. 2017-04. The Malampaya fund is the government’s profit share from the exploitation of natural gas resources in the Camago-Malampaya reservoir under Service Contract 38. Mr. Gatchalian placed the accrued profit from operations at P173.28 billion from January 2002 until June 2013. The funds were collected by the Department of Energy and managed by the Bureau of the Treasury for the exploration and development of energy resources. In 2007, the DBM was authorized to release money from the fund according to certain guidelines. However, a Commission on Audit special report issued in 2017 revealed that Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) and Notices of Cash Allocations (NCAs) were issued with incomplete documentary requirements, Mr. Gatchalian said. The anomaly includes the lack of project proposals, requests for funds from the implementing agencies, proof of DBM evaluation, or approval by the President, he added. As of May 21, 2012, a total of P38.8 billion of public funds has been released by DBM to various nongovernment agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and the provincial government of Palawan, the senator said. —