Philippines ambassador cites transparency in use of funds

By Joey Aguilar/Staff ReporterThe transparent disclosure of receipts and expenditures in celebrating the 115th Philippine Independence Day in Qatar is one of the reasons for getting the full support of the Filipino community, ambassador Crescente Relacion has said.During the thanksgiving and awards night held on August 30, he urged the Philippine Independence Day Organising Committee (Pinoc) 2013 to finish its work by coming up with the audited financial statements.“This has been done since I assumed office from the 2010 celebration of Philippine Independence,” said Relacion, adding that the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Picpa) — Qatar chapter audits the financial report.The Pinoc 2013 thanksgiving night was held to recognise and the contributions of individuals and various organisations behind the success of the annual celebration. It also cited the help of various sponsors who supported the event on June 14. The ambassador stressed that the Independence Day celebration is not an embassy event but a community-led initiative attended by about 10,000 overseas Filipino workers. “The embassy merely supported this undertaking,” he added.Relacion expressed optimism that future celebrations will remain transparent especially in the disbursement of funds. He urged the next Pinoc officials to work harder and beat this year’s achievements. Former and incumbent Picpa presidents Jehmar Tabili and Richard Ali noted that some improvements in the financial statement were recorded this year compared with last year.  “We give our recommendations to the committee (Pinoc) and it is up to them if they will follow it,” they said. With the presence of an independent body to audit the finances, the two officers noted that it maintains the integrity of the committee which uses the funds for the whole celebration. He said every centavo should be properly accounted.During the event, Relacion also announced the streamlining of 97 active Filipino groups and the upcoming elections of the United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ) tentatively set on September 13.The move will allow embassy officials and community leaders to monitor and get updates from each group.UFOQ is expected to spearhead and organise major activities of the Filipino community in the country. The embassy recently issued a guideline on the creation of the said umbrella organisation. It also includes the officers’ term of office, election guidelines and the permanent committees of UFOQ.