How was the WB aide memoire for the JRSP leaked?

I was reading Negros Bloggers and I found myself reading this post by Ms. Kristine Kua. She said that it was a husband of a daughter of budget secretary Abad working at the world bank who released the aide memoire.

I googled again today and I came across this site:
[Ref 1] Ellen Tordesillas: Phil. media fell for WB hoax? It is worth noting that Manila Bulletin was the only newspaper to publish an OFFICIAL DENIAL from the World Bank.


The World Bank denied on Monday (January 16, 2012) it released a report on the Supreme Court’s Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) that noted its dissatisfaction with the way the project was being implemented.

Erika Leann Lacson-Esguerra, World Bank program assistant for external relations, said Monday the bank did not release to the media a supposed memo regarding the “unsatisfactory” progress of the high court’s loan.

“This email message did not come from the World Bank. Any official statement from the World Bank will be posted online (www.worldbank.org.ph),” Lacson-Esguerra said.


But the above is only a news item!
The earliest mention of an email comes was in January 8 [See Ref 1]. I visited the official WB site and only was able to read an overview WB Philippine s Overview without a mention of the JRSP(Judicial Reform Support Program) loan. I am wondering where the original WB report is!

But a getrealphilippines.com post purportedly revealed the following:


In a Dec 28, 2011 letter addressed to SC Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, chair of the Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) Management Committee, Matthew Stephens, acting WB country director, cited seven concerns and issues on how the High Tribunal used the US$21.9M loan (P903-M based on current rates) it granted the High Tribunal in 2003.



A member of the getrealphilippines FB page had this to say about the above “report”…



It seems that [the above request] was not supposed to be published publicly as yet but it was leaked to RAPPLER.COM. It is alleged that Andre[w] Parker husband of Presidential Management Staff chief leaked the paper to RAPPLER. This is the report which seems to insinuate and fuel anti [Chief Justice Renato Corona] sentiments before Monday’s trial.


So it is just allegations that A. Parker leaked the request to rappler.com.

We hope to get to the bottom of this clever operation soon!



Click for a timeline of the trial.

The deafening silence of the Supreme Court over the WB damning report.

Discovery by the WB of anomalous practices in JRSP

I have tried to condense the report in the following link. I recommend reading the original link also.

Click on wB loan to supreme court a high risk

The World Bank hascovered questionable procurements and disbursements in the Supreme Court's JRSP(Judicial Reform Support Project). This project was supported by a WB load of 21.9 million USD(930.75 Phil Pesos)! Sus! the project was designed to increase efficiency in the dispensation of justice in the country.

Unsatisfactory rating for Supreme Court

The WB has rated the judiciary reform program as unsatisfactory and requiring with implementation delays and additional correctional for smooth project closing. Thw peoject consisted mostly of Justices and high court justices visiting the courts in various parts of the country. The JRSP is now a high risk lending case and is demmed unsatisfactory on project management, project procurement and financial management dimensions . The financial statements of the project cannot be even relied upon by the World Bank.

Improprieties and corrupt practices uncovered!

Here are some of the things uncovered:

• “diminished existing internal check-and-balance mechanism,”
• purchase of information technology equipment outside of the agreed procurement plan
• practice of borrowing funds from the loan for the justices’ foreign travels, paid to a travel agency owned by lawyer Estelito Mendoza.
• the printing supply of the Court Reporter’s Case Index
• purchase of laptop computers
• speaker’s fee for seminars,
• registration fee of justices attending international conferences
• foreign travels of justices and their staff (including airfare, hotel accommodations and meal allowances).

The World Bank wants a refund of $199,900, covering “70 payments” deemed “ineligible” or unauthorized under the terms of the JRSP.

The World Bank review was triggered by a rise of several withdrawal applications” presented to the World Bank by the tribunal’s Program Management Office (PMO), “which seemed to signal a sudden and significant increase in the disbursement in the latter half of 2011.”

Responses of the Supreme Coourt and Corona defense panel

The Supreme court has not responded to this story but the spokesperson of Corona’s legal team, said:
“not in any way connected to any of the articles of impeachment” against the Chief Justice.

He added that it was the high court as a whole, and not Corona alone, that should respond to the accusation and suspected about the timing of the release of the WB report and simply dismised it as black propaganda.

Internal details

The most glaring example of mismanagement was the appointment by Corona of one man as
as court administrator, head of the Public Information Office, and chair of the Bids and Awards Committee.
The court administrator was authorized to approve, on Corona’s behalf, payments of up to P200,000 which was later increased to P500,000, the World Bank said.

Such conflict of interest and lack of controls (check and balances) has contributed to the irregular and inappropriate procurement and expenditure decisions.

It is the people who will suffer for this!

Ultimately it is the people via taxes which will sufere for the failings of the SC regarding JRSP procject. They will have to pay back the WB and forget the people who have enriched their pockets from this WB loan.