Senate to probe SC use of WB loan
By Cathy Yamsuan, Christine Avendaño, Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16, 2012

 MANILA, Philippines—On the eve of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senate finance chair Franklin Drilon called for an investigation into the alleged misuse of a $21.9-million World Bank loan to the Supreme Court.

Drilon, of President Aquino’s Liberal Party, filed a resolution directing the Senate oversight committee on public expenditures to look into the circumstances surrounding the World Bank’s Judicial Support Reform Project (JRSP) loan to the Supreme Court, particularly into reports the funds were mismanaged and disbursed in a manner contrary to the agreement between the two institutions.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the loan on Oct. 2, 2003, to finance the JRSP, which sought to enhance the Judiciary’s efficiency and integrity. According to reports, the Bank is now demanding a refund of $199,900, covering “70 payments” deemed “ineligible” or unauthorized under the terms of the JRSP by Jan. 31.

Drilon charged that financial arrangements like the JRSP loan “constitute a future financial drain on the already limited monetary resources at the disposal of the government.”

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