Baguilat seeks Senate action on bill to stop Napoles-type scams

By Aiza P. Naminghit

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- In a bid to help prevent a repeat of the pork barrel scandal allegedly pulled off by Janet Lim-Napoles, Ifugao Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat has called on the Senate to prioritize action on his bill providing a system for the accreditation of non-government organizations that receive government funds.

The House committee on people’s participation recently approved a bill authored by Baguilat that provides a system for the strict accreditation of NGOs and people’s organizations eligible to receive government funds.

The “NGO Accreditation for Government Fund Releases Act” is co-authored by, among others, Representatives Sol Aragones, Lucy Torres-Gomez, Cresente Paez and Leonor Gerona-Robredo.

The bill seeks to help ensure that only legitimate NGOs, people’s organizations, civil society organizations, with a proven track record, financial capability and deep roots in communities will receive government funding, which will be used to implement crucial projects such as social preparation, training and capacity building.

 Baguilat said he hoped the Senate would come up with its own version of the NGO accreditation bill for its immediate passage into law, thus contributing to the Aquino administration’s campaign toward greater transparency and accountability in government.

“Such a law can then become among the 16th Congress’ legacy laws for transparency and good governance, aside from the Freedom of Information bill,” said Baguilat, who filed the bill as a response to findings that the pork barrel scam involved the funneling of government funds into dubious NGOs linked to Napoles.

 In the meantime, while waiting for the bill to become law, Baguilat urged the executive branch, especially the Departments of Budget and Management and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, to continue their initiatives to put in place stricter accreditation regulations to make sure that government funds go to where they are intended.

 Baguilat stressed that the NGO accreditation bill was needed to help remove the stigma on legitimate NGOs who undertake much-needed projects, especially among the poor and marginalized.

 He had said that NGOs have unfortunately been given a bad name by the Napoles scam, which revealed that millions of pesos in taxpayer money ended up in the coffers of fake NGOs.

 He stressed that this was “unfair” to legitimate NGOs that labor quietly and struggle mightily to serve the sectors they work with and fill the many gaps in society left behind by lack of adequate government presence.

 With the passage of the bill, Baguilat hoped that NGOs would not be used for evil ends.

 “This bill is meant to strengthen the efficiency of government-NGO partnership in development by ensuring that only those NGOs that have the expertise, capability and experience are allowed to be implementers of projects that use government funds,” Baguilat said.

 “This is not to restrict the freedom of NGOs but rather a way to make sure that we elevate the status of NGOs as service providers and not merely as fund conduits,” said Baguilat, who also chairs the House Committee on Agrarian Reform.#