Cruto has million in unliquidated cash advances – VP Binay

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay has dared acting Makati City Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña to order his handpicked local official to liquidate over 2 million in alleged cash advances that he made between 2004 and 2005.

This City Hall official is Arthur Cruto, officer-in-charge of Makati Action Center (MAC) and the whistleblower in the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee hearing on the alleged anomalous practices of the Binay family.

It was Cruto who claimed before senators that Makati was losing 367 million annually due to the enrollment of “ghost” senior citizens in the city’s Blu Card Program or benefits package for the elderly.

Joey Salgado, Office of the Vice President (OVP) media affairs chief, said Cruto allegedly failed to submit liquidation documents for two cash advances he made over 10 years ago – one amounting to 1,820,000 in August 2004 for the Araw ng Makati 2004 celebration, and the other for an ARIS Seminar in the amount of 300,600 in April 2005. He cited records from the City Accounting Department for his allegation.

Binay, chairman of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) was still Makati mayor when Cruto made the accumulated cash advance of 2,120,600.

A further review of the record showed that Cruto was able to liquidate only 16,497.10, specifically from his second cash advance. This leaves an outstanding balance of 2,104,102.90.

“We would like to remind the acting mayor that he had personally vouched for the ‘untarnished’ employment records of his appointees. It would do him well to take a closer look at the records of his other appointees to ensure that they do not have outstanding obligations like Cruto,” Salgado said.

He said at the very least, Peña should demand Cruto’s immediate compliance with government policies on cash advances and submit all the necessary documents.