Assisi foundation sets matter straight

The Assisi Development Foundation Inc. (ADF) wishes to respond to a media report written by Gil Cabacungan and published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated Aug. 18, 2014, entitled “COA questions P230-M DAP milk fund,” where ADF WAS named as one of the recipients.

We would like to state the following facts:

1. The Assisi Development Foundation has been successfully running the Hapag-Asa feeding program nationwide since 2005 in partnership with Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-Nassa), Nourish the Children (USA), Feed the Children (PH), Risen Savior Mission and Feed My Starving Children. To date the program has fed more than 1.5 million children through implementing dioceses, parishes, local government units, schools and other NGOs.

2. The National Dairy Authority (NDA) has an existing milk feeding program with the same objective as that of ADF, which is to reduce malnutrition among children in poor communities.

3. In 2011, the NDA administrator and an ADF program manager met at an event in Camarines Sur and had a meeting of minds that their programs could complement each other in order to reach more beneficiaries.

4. In 2012, a MOA was signed by the NDA and ADF to jointly feed at least 53,800 children nationwide. The NDA will supply a P16 pack of milk per child for 60 days. This will cost NDA a total of P51,648,000. The program name “Hapag-Asa” was adopted by the NDA.

5. The signed MOA specifies that the NDA will act as the lead agency for the program management and coordination among local NDA coordinators and suppliers of milk composed of local farmers. Furthermore, the NDA will manage/disburse the program budget in the amount of P51,648,000 approved funds by the Department of Budget and Management. At any point of the project implementation, NO FUNDS FROM GOVERNMENT WILL BE COURSED THROUGH THE ADF.

6. THE ADF together with its local partners will identify children to be enrolled in the program. The ADF will provide Vitameal and MannaPack hot meals for another 60 days amounting to P96 million WITHOUT ANY FUNDING FROM GOVERNMENT. These food supplements are donated to the ADF by its American partners. The peso costs (customs duties, shipping, transport, supplemental rice and food ingredients) are funded by Assisi with assistance from Pondo ng Pinoy.

7. Because of undue delay and the controversy regarding the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds sourced by the NDA, the ADF decided to proceed on its own and will continue the feeding program without the milk supplement from the NDA and will feed the children for 120 days with Vitameal and MannaPacks instead of the protracted 60 days with the milk supplement.

8. No government funds were ever allocated and obligated to the ADF as the organization provides Vitameal and MannaPack and not milk supplements.

9. To date, of the P51,648,000 total funding, NDA has only disbursed P1.6 million to farmer cooperatives for milk that was given to 1,707 children in Libmanan, Camarines Sur, and Caraga/Pyagaguwan, Davao Oriental.

—BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ASSISI DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION