Atty. Rico Quicho, Jejomar Binay’s Spokesperson said the Trillanes used his senate funds for his personal use. “The use of public funds for his personal benefit is clearly unethical, immoral, and a blatant abuse of his office. The taxpayers are paying for his household [expenses] and his personal ‘debt”
In the Rappler report last 2015, Trillanes allocated funds amounting to P1.63 million for the payment of salaries of 63 consultants, which includes his houseboy, personal and family drivers, PR group, campaign donors, ex mutineer associates and his brother Juan Antonio.
This amount was 50% of his office’s monthly budget. Commission on Audit (COA) reports stated that this figure is overly above the threshold amount for consultancy services amounting to P506,262 a month .
Quicho stated that Trillanes is violated COA Circular No 85-55-A, which defines unnecessary expenditures as “those not supportive of the implementation of the objectives and mission of the agency relative to the nature of its operation. This would also include incurrence of expenditure not dictated by the demands of good government, and those the utility of which cannot be ascertained at a specific time. An expenditure that is not essential or that which can be dispensed with without loss or damage to property is considered unnecessary. The mission and thrusts of the agency incurring the expenditures must be considered in determining in whether or not an expenditure is necessary.”
"Pati houseboy 'sinama na niya as consultant. He should stop his moralizing and pontificating since the more he talks, the more he is exposed as a hypocrite,” Quicho added.
One of Trillanes’ 63 consultants is his houseboy Eddie Ybanez, who was being P3,500 a month. The family drivers, Bernard Allen Marzan and Jay-Ar Caro, were also receiving P11,500 and P8,100 a month, respectively. Trillanes also hired Robert Fong and Fabian Go as consultants with an P80,000 salary a month. In addition, Juan Antonio receives amounting to P427,000 from July to December 2014.
COA says these consultants’ work could not be ascertained because their services were considered to be “confidential in nature. And the significance of getting consultants cannot be determined.”
In the COA memo, consultancy expenses incremented because one senator hired 60+ consultants comparing to other senators who hired consultants with payment of P94,000 monthly.
Trillanes also hired the following as consultants:
Segundino Orfiano Jr - for P71,200 per month
Ian Lee Punongbayan - P71,200
Jayme Torrato - P71,200 per month
Sherwin Sanusie - for P71,100 per month
Sonny Madarang - for P71,300 per month
Newspaper columnist Herman Tiu Laurel - for P23,000 per month
Former journalist Christopher Cahilig - for P57,500
Orfiano, Punongbayan, and Madarang are also members of Magdalo. Trillanes’ other consultants, meanwhile, receive P40,000 to P60,000.
"The COA required the Senate to explain or justify the sudden increase of expenses for consultancy services,” said Quicho.
Source: Rappler
