On the Hajj Expenses: Citing What the Constitution Says on Public Funds

CHEERS TO CNN Philippines’ News Night for providing the necessary context in reporting what President Rodrigo Duterte said regarding the expenses for the Hajj of a group of Maranaos in a speech on June 6.

Instead of just reporting what was said, News Night anchor Pia Hontiveros recalled on June 7 newscast that the Constitution states that no money shall be “appropriated, applied, paid or employed directly or indirectly for the use or the benefit of any sect, church or system of religion,” referring to Article VI, Section 29.

President Duterte, in his speech at an Eid’l Fitr (end of Islamic holy month of Ramadan) celebration in Davao City, asked the Commission on Audit (COA) not to compel the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to refund the PHP5 million it had transferred to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF). The amount was spent for the Hajj some Marawi City evacuees in 2018.

The Hajj is the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. NCMF coordinates and supervises the Hajj of Filipino Muslim pilgrims. Asking the COA to reconsider, the president said, “Actually, that P5 million is worth billions in terms of your kind generosity to finance the poor people na Muslim paramakapag-Hajj.” He also said that the Hajj is more important to an individual Muslim.

The transferred funds were part of the money meant for Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM). Devastated by the 2017 war against the Maute Group, Marawi is yet to be rebuilt, and some 100,000 residents are still in evacuation centers or living with relatives.

Recalling such provision puts the president’s statement under scrutiny, a rare feat for a media usually content on merely repeating official pronouncements.

The report could have pointed out that spending funds meant for a particular purpose for something else is technical malversation – an observation made by Senator Panfilo Lacson via his Twitter account, and which reports quoted in newspapers days later, along with Vice President Leni Robredo and other senators who slammed the president’s request.

A CNNPhilippines.com report noted that this is the second time that the president commented on an independent constitutional body. On May 30, he asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to dispose of Smartmatic.