P137-B Malampaya Fund is intact, says National Treasurer De Leon

Sen. Ralph Recto made “unfounded and misleading” claims that the royalties the government received from the Malampaya offshore gas project is missing, the National Treasurer said Wednesday, noting the  P137.288-billion Malampaya Fund is intact.

 

In a statement released to the media, Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said the money from Malampaya is  credited and booked using Fund Code 151, a special account under the General Fund managed by the Treasury Bureau.

 

"Sen. Recto's claims are unfounded and misleading. The remaining Malampaya Fund balance – all amounting to P137.288 billion – is not 'gone,' as he says, but perfectly intact in the National Treasury," said De Leon.

 

“As funds under SAGF 151, the Malampaya Fund is used to finance energy-related programs of the Department of Energy and/or pay off National Government obligations provided for in the General Appropriations Act (GAA),” the statement read.


^{The Malampaya gas field in Northwest Palawan}

'Ask DBM'

The bureau simply monitors the collections and the releases from the Malampaya Fund, Deputy Treasurer Christine Sanchez told GMA News Online after a press briefing at the Department of Finance Wednesday.

Executive Order No. 848 issued on Oct. 13, 2009, authorized the use of the special account in the General Fund – Fund 151 – of the Department of Energy “for purposes as may be directed by the President of the Philippines,” it added. 

 

From March  25, 2002 to Sept. 30, 2013, the Energy Department deposited P179.338  billion under the Malampaya Fund, De Leon said. Releases under the Special Allotment Release Order totaled P42.050 billion during the same period, bringing the balance to P137.288 billion, De Leon said. 

 

The Malampaya Fund financed P303 million worth of energy-related projects and P23.3 billion in non-energy related projects from 2004 to 2009, according to the bureau.

 

Under the Aquino administration, P18.45 billion worth of energy-related projects were financed out of the fund. No money was released for non-energy related projects, it said.

 

“Similar to other Special Accounts under the General Fund, the use of Malampaya Fund is automatically appropriated every year, and all releases are governed by SAGF procedures, according to the bureau.

 

“Specifically, it requires the certification on actual amount deposited in the account and the issuance of the Special Allotment Release Order by the Department of Budget and Management ,” it added. – VS, GMA News