Sa panahon na baon ang bayan sa kahirapan, #WagKangKuCorrupt!

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CONFIDENTIAL AT INTELLIGENCE FUNDS: PAHAYAG AT PANAWAGAN NG ‘WAG KANG KUCORRUPT MOVEMENT

Sa isang bansang nababaon sa kahirapan dahil sa napakataas na presyo ng mga bilihin, napakalaking utang ng pamahalaan, at mababang sahod, dapat walang puwang ang confidential funds. Malaking problema ito dahil hindi matukoy kung saan at paano ito ginagamit ng gobyerno.

Hindi ito makatarungan para sa taumbayan na araw-araw ay nagpapagod magtrabaho at nag-aambag ng malaking porsyento ng kanilang sweldo sa pondo ng pamahalaan. Ang confidential fund ay hindi susi sa ating pag-unlad.

Ang panukalang kabuuang budget para sa confidential at intelligence funds sa taong 2024 ay umaabot sa mahigit sampung bilyong piso (P10 billion). Sa halagang iyan, pwede nang magpatayo ng 4,000 classrooms, mamigay ng mahigit 5,000,000 sako ng bigas, o mga 20,000 na bahay. Mas maraming makabuluhan at kapakipakinabang na proyekto para sa mga Pilipino ang maaaring paglaanan ng confidential funds.

Ang confidential funds ay mas malala pa sa pork barrel — pera ng bayan na naabuso ng mga kurap na opisyal ng pamahalaan. Hindi istrikto ang proseso ng accounting at auditing ng confidential at intelligence funds. Hindi kailangan sumunod sa procurement law para gastusin ito. Sapat na ang isang papel lang na may lagda ng pinuno ng ahensya. Hindi kailangan ng resibo, detalye, at paliwanag.

Tatlo ang panawagan ng ‘Wag Kang KuCorrupt Movement.

Una: Abolish Confidential Funds. Hindi kailangan ng confidential funds ng ating mga civilian agencies upang gampanan ang kanilang pangunahing mandato. Hindi rin ito kailangan ng ating mga mayor. Sapat na ang intelligence fund ng ating military at uniformed personnel para tustusan ang mga pangangailangan sa national security at peace and order.

Pangalawa: Ilabas ng Commission on Audit (COA) ang lahat ng dokumento na mayroon ito kaugnay sa confidential funds lalo na ang sa Presidente at Bise Presidente. Kailangang busisiin din nito ang mga programa at proyekto kung saan ginamit ang mga pondo.

Pangatlo: Magbalangkas ang Kongreso ng batas na maglilinaw sa wastong paggamit ng intelligence funds. Dapat kasama dito ang detalyado at mabusising sistema ng accounting at audit. Kailangan magtatag ng isang Oversight Committee na titiyak na tama ang paggamit sa pondo. Kailangan din ng karampatang penalties o kaparusahan sa mga mang-aabuso dito.

Mahalaga na ang bawat sentimo ng pondo ng bayan — ang pera ng bawat mamamayan — ay napupunta sa totoong serbisyong bayan. Walang nililihim, walang sinisikreto, walang ninanakaw.

Sa panahon na baon ang bayan sa kahirapan, #WagKangKuCorrupt!

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CONFIDENTIAL AND INTELLIGENCE FUNDS:
STATEMENT AND CALLS BY THE ‘WAG KANG KUCORRUPT MOVEMENT

Confidential funds have no place in a country mired in poverty due to sky-high prices of consumer goods, record government debt, and low wages. They are especially outrageous because of the lack of clarity on their purpose and lack of transparency on their use and audit.

This is an injustice to the common Filipino people who work tirelessly every day and contribute a considerable portion of their salaries to the coffers of the government. Confidential funds are not a key to progress at all.

The proposed total budget for confidential and intelligence funds for 2024 is more than ten billion pesos (P10 billion). This amount can be used for more important and urgent purposes that would truly benefit the people especially the poor. This amount is enough to construct over 4,000 new classrooms, hand out over 5,000,000 sacks of rice, or build 20,000 houses.

Confidential funds are worse than the pork barrel — taxpayers’ money that was abused and misused by corrupt government officials. These funds and intelligence funds do not have strict accounting processes and users do not need to follow the procurement law. All that is required is a piece of paper signed by the head of the agency. No receipts, no details, no explanations needed.

The ‘Wag Kang KuCorrupt Movement has three calls.

First: Abolish Confidential Funds. Civilian government agencies do not need them to fulfill their mandates. Neither do local government units. The intelligence funds are enough for the military and uniformed personnel to support their needs for national security and peace and order.

Second: The Commission on Audit (COA) should release to the public all documents related to confidential funds, especially those of the President and the Vice President. It should also do a follow through audit to get details of the programs and projects for which the funds were used.

Third: Congress should create a law that will clearly define the proper use of intelligence funds. The law should include a detailed system for accounting and audit. It should also create an Oversight Committee that will ensure that the funds are used correctly and accounted for. The law should also impose sanctions and penalties on those who will misuse and abuse the funds.

It is crucial that every centavo of the people’s hard-earned money goes to honest public service. No secrets, nothing hidden, nothing stolen.

At this time when the country is buried in poverty, everyone should stand against corruption. #WagKangKuCorrupt!

Digido, UnaCash volunteers plant over 700 trees at Tanay, Rizal as part of commitment to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development

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Deforestation and forest degradation remain major global threats while growth in protected area coverage of key biodiversity areas has largely stalled.

Digido Finance Corp. (DFC), operator of award-winning consumer finance platform Digido and in-app and in-store finance solutions provider UnaCash, planted 710 tree saplings and seedlings during its latest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activity in Barangay Cuyambay, Tanay, Rizal.

With support from the Rizal provincial government, nearly 40 employees and management of DFC took part during the activity, planting an assortment of native and fruit-bearing trees that included narra, dao, bani, soursop, cashew and jackfruit. Those involved were also given a refresher course on the essential techniques in proper tree planting and aftercare.

Volunteers from online payment gateway DragonPay, a trusted partner of Digido and UnaCash, also took part during the event and made a monetary donation to support the company’s initiative.

Ahead of the event, DFC also mobilized creative, in-house fundraising efforts to add more tree saplings and seedlings for planting.

Deforestation and forest degradation remain major global threats while growth in protected area coverage of key biodiversity areas has largely stalled, according to this year’s edition of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals Report.

Tree planting activities in designated areas in Barangay Cuyambay are expected to aid in the conservation of the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve (KWFR) and the larger Sierra Madre mountain range. The KWFR plays a significant role in regulating the flow of water towards the National Capital Region while the Sierra Madre has historically shielded urban dwellers from unfavorable weather generated in the Pacific Ocean.

“We are incredibly glad to have planted over 700 trees for this initiative, which is our humble contribution to global efforts related to biodiversity conservation and climate-resilient development. While we are a digitally native business, we affirm the essential value of nature by doing our part to take care of the planet,” Digido country manager Farit Shakirov said.

UnaCash president Aleksei Kosenko added: “We hope our tree planting activity in this community is our first of many. Alleviating the effects of climate change is a daunting task for all, but we believe it is imperative, especially for industries, to proactively contribute where we can to build a more sustainable future.”

WWF-Philippines recognizes individuals, project partners in annual Partners’ Night 2023

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WWF-Philippines celebrated its annual Partners’ Night together with staff, project partners, awardees, and a guest of honor.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines awarded groups and individuals for their contributions to conserving nature well as project partners from the private sector who supported WWF’s projects and advocacies.

WWF-Philippines held its annual Partners’ Night at the Raffles Fairmont Hotel in Makati City on October 24, with the 2023 theme “Web of Change”, underscoring the interdependent roles of every group and individual in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.

Guests, staff, and partners graced the occasion, with Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga as the guest of honor.

“We all have a role to play in conservation as we are all tenants who temporarily live and share a common home,” the Secretary said in a speech. “We should strengthen and reinforce these connections for positive change and be a voice for biodiversity conservation to encourage everyone to be part of simple and concrete solutions.”

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga was the guest of honor of WWF-Philippines’ Partners’ Night 2023

WWF-Philippines also introduced its newly elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees Atty. Anthony Charlemagne Yu.

“This year’s partners’ night celebrates our strength in diversity — of individuals who commit to changing the ending for the planet, of ideas and solutions, of actions and roles that we play in addressing the twin challenges of nature loss and climate change,” said Yu in his remarks. “We thrive in diversity and in our intricate interconnectedness.”

The highlight of the night was the awarding of the Force of Nature awards to groups and individuals whose contributions made a significant impact in promoting and scaling the advocacy of nature conservation and promoting sustainability.

The Force of Nature awardees included San Jose Sico Landfill Multipurpose Cooperative for their contributions to achieve a world without waste through collecting, recycling and composting waste from business establishments in Batangas City.

WWF-Philippines honored groups and individuals for their contributions in promoting and scaling the advocacy of nature conservation

The Association of Young Environmental Journalists also received a Force of Nature award for helping spread the environmental communications advocacy, by training over a thousand youth and professionals on environmental journalism and communications.

Rodel Cadigal, President of United Ilijan Agricultural Workers for Sustainable Development in Negros Occidental, was the final Force of Nature awardee, and was honored for his involvement in addressing deforestation and agricultural land degradation issues as well as watershed management, water conservation and sustainable farming.

WWF-Philippines also honored BPI and BPI Foundation, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc., Globe Telecom, HSBC, Mynt, and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines for consistently supporting the organization's projects and advocacies.

“We hold all of these wins and these lessons together within this web of change. WWF means World Wide Fund for Nature, but among us pandas, we also say WWF means work with fun and work with friends. WWF Philippines is the organization it is today because of all you. We count you as our friends–people who make this work fun and fulfilling,” said WWF-Philippines Executive Director Katherine Custodio.