CHIZ WANTS ALL PROPOSED LOANS SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS

Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero demanded Malacañang to submit all contracts and agreements entered into by the government under the official development assistance (ODA) to the oversight committee for ODA which he chairs.

Escudero stressed this even after the palace announced the suspension of 11 infrastructure projects under the ODA fund.

The senator also said that existing, proposed and potential "project loans and program loans" for future fiscal years should be submitted ahead to Congress together with the proposed national budget so these can also be approved.

"The practice now is to submit the budget with program loans and project loans proceeds already embedded in it. What we want are prospective ones, not the ones that are already signed, sealed and delivered" he said.

Escudero stressed that under the law, the congressional oversight committee on ODA is tasked to review all ODA contracts and agreements, in addition to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Commission on Audit.

"If Malacañang through the Procurement Transparency Group (PTG) that it created had submitted these ODA contracts to the business sector for scrutiny and review, it is but proper that my committee be also given copies as this is readily mandated by Republic Act No. 8182, as amended by RA 8555," Escudero said.

Section 8 of RA 8182, as amended by RA 8555 says that "pursuant to its constitutional duties, the Executive Department, particularly NEDA, the Commission on Audit and Congress shall discharge Oversight functions, to wit: (c) there shall be a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of the Chairmen of the Committee on Ways and Means of both the Senate and the House representing the majority and two (2) members each from the Senate and the House representing the minority to be designated by the leaders of the majority and minority in the respective chambers".

He said that more than the private sector and the PTG, it is the oversight committee on ODA that has the power to look into these contracts entered into by government including the now controversial national Broadband Network project.

"For greater transparency in all government transactions, Malacañang should heed to this call, otherwise, this PTG is just another moro-moro in the fashion of the Ombudsman's initiative to investigate the ZTE scandal".

Senator Escudero had been calling for the convening of the congressional oversight committee for overseas development assistance (ODA) to prevent and avoid wanton approval of loans contracted with neither congressional consultation nor consent. "Congress has been reduced to a rubber stamp, with no choice but to provide budgetary cover, because it cannot rescind what have become sovereign guarantees", he said.

"I have been calling for the convening of the oversight committee, together with our counterpart in the Lower House, after NEDA botched up a couple of ODA projects, particularly in this NBN-ZTE deal and the Commission on Audit has yet to present its review of each and every ODA contract entered into by government as required by law," Escudero said.

If this scheme will be followed then future loans will have the effect of getting "the imprimatur" of Congress and wanton loans like the ZTE and Cyber Ed projects could be already avoided, he said.