COA: Recto top spender in 2019, Bong Go spent least
THE Commission on Audit listed the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto as the top spender among senators in COA’S 2019 report, with first-termer Christopher “Bong” Go as the least-spending senator in the 24-member chamber.
COA findings showed Recto’s office spent P113.48 million for salaries of employees and operational expenses.
Recto clarified he was not contesting the findings in the COA report, but explained that the expenses grew as the senator’s office extended assistance to calamity victims, and his research and policy team worked hard.
Listed as second top spender by COA is Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri’s office, spending P110.6 million also for calamity assistance
and office expenses.
Likewise spending over P100 million are the offices of Senators Grace Poe, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Leila de Lima, Aquilino Pimentel III, Sherwin Gatchalian, Francis Pangilinan and Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
Comebacking Senator Bong Revilla’s office was listed as top spender with expenses at P48 million, followed by Senator Lito Lapid reporting P45-million expenses.
Among the first-termers, neophyte Senator Ronald dela Rosa
was reported as biggest spender at P46.67 million, while fellow administration Senator Go’s office was listed least spender at P33.7 million.
The COA report noted that only Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao did not charge to his office budget expenses for local and foreign travel expenses.
At the same time, the COA recorded the office of Senator Leila de Lima as spending the biggest for “motor vehicles and equipment rentals,” while Senator Pangilinan
was recorded incurring the biggest expenses for consultants amounting to P15.5 million.
According to Zubiri, there are big variances in the expenses of the senators’ offices, noting the COA findings covered “election year” in 2019, when the terms of some senators expired and new members were sworn in that year.
For his part, Senate President Vicente Sotto III affirmed he approved the publication of the COA report “so the people will know where their taxes go.”