Taguiwalo denies ‘funding’ NPAs
Former Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo refuted yesterday President Duterte’s revelation the other day that he had received reports on the use of conditional cash transfer program funds to support the New People’s Army (NPA) during her stint in government.
Taguiwalo said the accusations cited by the President were all lies and baseless and defended that the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) funds are directly coursed through the Landbank and its conduits who then make direct payout to the beneficiaries.
“For the record and for the President’s own awareness, not a single peso of the 4Ps program passed through my hands,” Taguiwalo said.
She added that all transactions of the department’s program were being recorded and regularly audited.
In Malacañang, Duterte clarified that the information he received came from the military and he was not personally making accusations against Taguiwalo.
“Hindi nangaling sa akin yung sabi na ginamit yung pera ni Taguiwalo. Dumating sa kamay ng mga congressmen from the military maybe, but hindi naggaling sa akin yun (It did not come from me that Taguiwalo was using government money. Maybe it reached the hands of congressmen from the military, but it did not come from me),” he said. “Otherwise I would not have reappointed and reappointed her,” he added.
The President said that alleged soldiers recovered some envelopes that contained cash from the 4Ps of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during military operations in the camps of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) in the hinterlands.
For his part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Eduardo Año said the military will support any investigation on Taguiwalo.
“Yes, we will support (it) and whatever that we can give, we will provide,” Año told reporters during the send-off ceremony of the 105-strong, all-female Civil Relations Company (CRC) to Marawi City, held at Villamor Airbase, Pasay City yesterday.
“Well in deference to Secretary Taguiwalo, I don’t want to give any comment. May mga sources ang ating Presidente kung saan nanggagaling so nirerespeto natin. Ang pagkaalis naman ni Secretary Taguiwalo sa DSWD ay dahil sa hindi siya na-confirm ng Commission on Appointments (The President has sources where the information came from.) Her being ease out from the DSWD is a result of her not being confirmed by the Commission on Appointments),” he said. (With reports from Antonio L. Colina and Francis T. Wakefield)