DSWD chief’s planned purchase of ‘luxury’ vehicles scored By Gerry Baldo and Charlie V. Manalo 10/08/2010

DSWD chief’s planned purchase of ‘luxury’ vehicles scored

By Gerry Baldo and Charlie V. Manalo 10/08/2010

With tens of billions of pesos in the hands of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWS), its chief prefers to splurge it in new vehicles.

Amid the cuts in the budgetary allocations from most of the government agencies, the planned purchase of a fleet of vehicles by the DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, was off tangent in the Aquino administration’s claimed tight national budget.

According to Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, Soliman’s plan to purchase sport utility vehicles and four-wheel drive pick-ups was “rather lavish” considering the cuts in capital outlay of public hospitals and state universities.

Such purchase runs counter to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad’s repeated declarations that no motor vehicles would be bought in the remaining months of 2010 and under the national budget for 2011. The said policy was outlined by Secretary Abad as No. 6 of the general budget principles under the proposed P1.645 trillion budget for next year..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101008hed6.html