COA okayed use of PCSO funds for admin expenses

I refer to Sr. Pilar Verzosa’s letter titled “PCSO-delisted charities in dilemma on how to go on.” (Inquirer, 10/1/11)

I appreciate Sister Pilar’s appeal to “President Aquino and current PCSO Chair Margarita Juico” to “reconsider their policies and remain true to the original PCSO mandate.” There is a need to inform the PCSO chair that years ago, the Commission on Audit (COA) approved/allowed the use of 30 percent of PCSO assistance for administrative expenses to enable the charitable institutions to function properly in helping the poor.

According to Sister Pilar, the Welcome House of the Good Shepherd Sisters has been receiving funds from the PCSO “for almost 20 years” from the time of my predecessor, PCSO chair Mita Pardo de Tavera, whom I succeeded in 1994.

I continued Chair Mita’s projects and honored them all, even expanding on what she had started. Aside from the fact that all the charitable institutions are accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the religious sectors have truly helped in bringing the government closer to the people. I admire them for their sacrifices and dedication in caring for the less fortunate in our midst.

If there were some delays experienced during the past administration of which I was no longer the PCSO chair, it is only because more charitable institutions were accredited and had to be accommodated.

Sister Pilar, I pray that your institution, as well as the others, will continue to receive assistance from the PCSO, for you are all unsung heroes in our country, more than anyone can ever imagine.

—MANUEL L. MORATÓ,

mlmorato@yahoo.com