Caritas PH exec questions timing of ‘Yolanda’ funds release during election

• A Caritas PH official has questioned the timing of the release of Yolanda funds


• Gariguez said he wondered why the government waited two years to release the funds to coincide with the campaign period


• The priest raises concern the funds may end up being used by politicians to further their own agenda

MANILA, Philippines – Father Edu Gariguez of the Caritas Philippines had some doubts about the timing of the release of P24.7-B ‘Yolanda’ funds by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which came in the middle of the election period.

A few days ago, DBM announced the release of 24.7 billion Bottom-Up Budgeting funds for Eastern Visayas; the region most affected by supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.

But Gariguez said this is exactly their concern – that the funds would end up being used by the government to further their candidates’ agenda. He also accused the Aquino government of trying to defer the release of funds to Yolanda victims for two years until now, in the middle of the campaign period.

“It’s good because we have sufficient funds, but the timing of the release is what we’re concerned about. Do we need an election to release the money?” Gariguez said during an interview with Radyo Veritas.

Gariguez pointed out the government should have provided immediate assistance to the typhoon victims regardless of whether there is an election or not, especially when the funds turned out to be readily-available.

“What could be saddening here is there is a big chance the funds for the typhoon victims could be used by these politicians, which is really unacceptable,” the priest said.

Gariguez is the same Caritas PH official who criticized administration bet Mar Roxas’ controversial comics for being ‘hypocritical’; describing the campaign material as a ‘shameful and unacceptable propaganda.”

“In conscience, I need to belie this hypocritical claim of Mar Roxas claiming to be a hero in the emergency response,” he said earlier.

Gariguez clarified, however, neither he nor the Caritas PH is against any presidential candidate but would only want the truth to come out and not allow anyone to use the Yolanda victims to advance their own political agenda.

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