MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chair of the economic affairs committee, said the P56.5-billion road tax collected since 2001 from motor vehicles could have been used in the last elections and the graft-ridden ASEAN summit, both in 2007.

Santiago also uncovered several anomalies where money from the Road User’s Tax was used, including about P2 billion allocated for the ASEAN summit in Cebu in 2007.

During yesterday’s Senate hearing, she also questioned why the Road Board allotted a total of P24.7 billion in 2007 but only P9.6 billion in 2008.

“In 2007, there are unusually large amounts of allotment. So 2007 was an election year and I noticed immediately appropriations from the Road Board jumped. In 2008, the allotment was P9.7 billion, the year prior was P24.7 billion. Why was there a big drop?” the senator asked. “Is it because (2007) was an election year?”

The feisty senator directed Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. to give the committee and the Commission on Audit (COA) a written explanation on the various questionable disbursements.

Full Story: PhilStar