PH senators warn vs. graft and corruption risks in P190B oil crisis funds

With around P190 billion in government funds earmarked for economic relief amid the Middle East oil crisis, Philippine senators are cautioning officials against potential corruption similar to what occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate’s Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) committee, said safeguards must be in place to ensure public funds are protected, noting that large-scale government spending tends to increase the risk of graft and corruption.

He drew comparisons to pandemic-era procurement issues, where funds were misused in the purchase of medical supplies, and warned that fuel importation now presents a similar vulnerability.

According to Gatchalian, bulk oil purchases could become a major corruption risk if not handled properly.

To minimize this, he proposed using Government-to-Government (G2G) arrangements for fuel imports, which would cut out intermediaries often linked to irregularities.

"In this case ang nakikita kong possible threat of corruption is 'yung pagbili ng langis dahil any purchase can be a source of corruption," Gatchalian said during the Kapihan sa Senado.

He explained that direct transactions between governments can improve transparency and accountability.

"Typically ang G2G, mabilis ang negotiations at pangalawa wala naman dito pinag-uusapan private profit, mas transparent ang negotiation dahil dalawang gobyerno nag-nenegotiate. So that's isa sa mga nakikita kong paraan para 'di makurakot itong hinahanda nating pondo sa pagbili ng langis," he added.

Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito warned public officials against exploiting the crisis for personal gain and stressed the need for strict monitoring of financial assistance programs.

“Mahiya naman kayo...there's a special place in hell for those people na wala ng konsensya kahit na krisis; talagang walang patawad,” he said.

“Yan ang lagi ko sinasabi, na challenge dito sa mga pagbigay ng mga assistants sa DSWD and other agencies na dahil cash ito, it's really prone to temptation. Pero sana naman, lalo na yung panahon ng crisis, magkaroon naman sila ng konsensya,” he added.

Gatchalian also cautioned local politicians against politicizing the distribution of aid or using it to strengthen patronage networks.

"Huwag lang maepal. Huwag siguro iepal ng politiko. 'Yung listahan kailangan malinis," Gatchalian stressed.