CORRUPTION CHARGES against Defensor first sprang from his trip to New York in June to attend a UN conference on human settlements. Defensor, his secretary general Armando de Castro, and Deinrado Simon Dimalibot, his deputy secretary general all took a Northwest Airlines business class flight despite government rules and a travel authority from Malacañang restricting foreign trips to economy class.

Defensor and de Castro's travel expenses were charged to the Home Mutual Development Fund (HDMF), popularly known as Pag-ibig, while those of Dimalibot's were initially requested to be drawn from HUDCC funds. Though insisting that there was nothing illegal in taking the business class trip, Defensor allows that it was "morally wrong," given that the government is cash-strapped.

As a corrective measure, he ordered the reimbursement of expenses in excess of that allowed by law even before reports on the issue came out in the media. Dimalibot, however, had his airfare deducted from his salary only last September 5 since his position only recently got approved by the budget department.

Yet Defensor does seem to like charging his expenses to the HDMF, as well as other sister agencies such as the Housing Guaranty Corporation (HGC). Though this has been the practice in the past, comparisons to previous administrations appear to validate observations that Defensor has, at the very least, rather lavish tastes.

From May 17 to 18, for instance, the HUDCC arranged luncheon and dinner meetings of the chairman with local developers and the Conclad Constructions Pty, Ltd, an Australian firm offering low-cost technology in building socialized housing units. The meal expenses for May 17 at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati reached about P56,000 and were paid by the HDMF. The HGC footed the bill for the following day.

During the time of former housing chiefs Karina David and later Leonora de Jesus, similar meetings were held either at the HUDCC or HDMF board room, with refreshments, usually "just sandwiches and Coke," often ordered only from the HDMF cafeteria. But Defensor defends the Shangri-la meetings as worthwhile. He adds, "It wasn't a party or a celebration of sorts. And I wasn't even there. It was paid for from the budget of the chairman. It's not so wrong. Sometimes, you discuss with people and you pay for the lunch."

Even more out of the ordinary, though, was Defensor's request for a P15.5 million budget for the Office of the Chairman from the operating budget of the HDMF this year. There is no specific budget allotted to the HUDCC chair from the housing corporations as funds are released on a per-request basis. What the chair regularly receives from Pag-ibig is a monthly honorarium—P5,000 in David's time—for attending board meetings.

Pag-ibig President Manuel Crisostomo admits the request was "unprecedented," but the HDMF board approved it anyway as a "gesture of support for the new secretary." He adds, "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Intindihin natin na he's new to the executive branch. When he transferred, he may have had preconceived ideas how much budget he would get. That's what he requested. Since it's within our budget ceilings, as a start, we provided him that."

Defensor himself explains that the additional budget from Pag-ibig was meant to augment his budget as HUDCC chair of about P755,000—roughly 1.3 percent of the council's total allotment of P57 million. This, he says, is at par with what the HDMF president gets at P15.6 million. Since he assumed office, Defensor also says he has only used up P2.5 million of his budget. Still, the budget is not without contentious issues that provide a hint of a congressman's spending patterns and ultimately Defensor's predisposition to the old ways of pork and perks in his former turf, the legislature.

Some have pointed to the P4.5 million Defensor had earmarked for "grants, aids and contributions," as well as the P3 million as discretionary fund, as nothing more than allocations for "kasal, binyag at libing (weddings, baptisms, and funerals)." Others question the wisdom of providing P2 million for research and business development and P1.5 million for seven new contractual positions when Defensor himself claims that he could count on the manpower, logistical support, and other facilities of the shelter agencies as provided under Arroyo's Executive Order No. 20 to strengthen the HUDCC.

EO 20 is basically a rehash of the Erap-issued EO 216. More importantly, it centralizes in the HUDCC chair all authority in the supervision of the housing agencies, among which is the review and evaluation of contracts and other agreements entered into by the agencies. The arrangement is meant to provide the HUDCC with an oversight function. But given such veto powers, it is feared that the setup will be prone to the usual pay-offs and commissions from contractors and developers.

One would have expected Defensor to take a different tack, but he too seemed not insulated from the usual practice of public officials of bringing fraternity brothers and political allies with them in government. Among those who are occupying key posts since Defensor's appointment to the HUDCC are Gonzalo Bongolan, a stocks analyst, now head of the HGC; lawyer Romero Quimbo, vice president and deputy CEO of Pag-ibig; de Castro, his chief of staff in the House; and Dimalibot.

Defensor defends his appointees saying that he needs to work with those he trusts. He adds that they are not exactly people of questionable credentials and competence. But one observer notes that it is doubtful if Bongolan, 36, has 10 years of experience in housing and finance to qualify for the position.

Defensor says he has long learned that politics is dirty, and that it is littered with "people who are out there to destroy you." He also says while it is inevitable for young public officials like himself to commit mistakes, their youth also gives them more time to correct these blunders. If only they weren't doing it on government time and money.

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