SMX Convention Center, Pasay City
2 October 2013
President Benigno S. Aquino III addressed all allegations about the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam in an open forum with members of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals’ (BCBP) during its annual National Grand Breakfast held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
In his message, President Aquino reiterated his position to scrap PDAF and the new measures he will initiate to deal with the irregularities surrounding the Bureau of Customs. He also added that detailed BOC employees will be shuffled based on the qualifications of the position they hold.
“Ang atin pong tugon: Reset button para sa ahensyang matagal nang naging mukha ng katiwalian sa gobyerno. Limang bagong deputy commissioner po ang ating itinalaga. Dalawang EO para maipasok ang bagong dugo, para sa bagong pananaw at pamamaraan,” he said.
The President also revealed that a huge amount of taxpayers’ money had been lost from the “Padrino system” and other questionable government projects.
“Hindi bababa sa P836 billion pesos, at maaaring lagpas pa sa P1 trillion. Gaano kalaki kaya ang nawala, ang ninakaw, ang pinaglaruan, ang ginamit sa transaksyon upang manatil sa kapangyarihan?,” he remarked.
He urged lawmakers and government officials to be transparent and accountable in spending taxpayer’s money, especially in making sure that assistance funds are directly being delivered to their poorest constituents.
“Napapaloob na po tayo sa panahon ng paglilinis at pagpapatibay sa ating sistema at proseso; sa panahong nakakaharap na natin ang sangandaan, na kung tama at tuwid ang ating pipiliin, ay dadalhin tayo sa tunay at makabuluhang transpormasyon ng lipunan,” the President said.
BCBP is a Catholic Charismatic organization composed of 15,000 men and women actively evangelizing the marketplace in over 100 business centers all over the Philippines.
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