Excess campaign funds didn't go to PNoy's pocket — Palace

The P37-million excess in President Benigno Aquino III’s campaign funds in the 2010 elections did not go to his pockets, Malacañang said on Tuesday. At a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said some of the funds have already been returned to the donors while some are in the process of being returned. She said some were used to pay taxes and other expenses. “Hindi napunta kay Pangulong Aquino [yung excess fund]," Valte said. “The President understands well that those donations were made for the campaign and not to him personally." Valte was reacting to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) regarding the “missing" excess funds. During Tuesday’s briefing, Valte pointed out that Aquino was the only presidential candidate in last year’s elections who declared an excess in campaign donations. She said they had a hard time liquidating some of the expenses that had no receipts. “Meron pong expenses na ang hirap naman pong hanapan ng resibo, yung mga pamasahe ng mga messengers, kinain sa carinderia hindi mahingan ng resibo," she said. In a letter dated June 29, 2011 to the PCIJ, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said of the P36,930,018.19 excess campaign donations, P18,356,859.88 was remitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He said they also spent around P4,000,000.00 for the printing of sample ballots that were distributed nationwide. “The rest of the excess campaign funds were actually returned to some of the donors who made substantial contributions to the campaign," Lacierda said in his letter. In another letter, Lacierda said Aquino returned P14 million to three donors, namely Fulgencio Factoran (P10 million), Gerry Esquivel (P2 million), and Alex Ayco (P2 million). — Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News