In response to several news articles and opinion columns linking Secretary Dinky Soliman to the PEACe Bonds, the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) would like to clarify that Secretary Soliman was never involved in the meetings, negotiations and bidding or any other activity related to the zero coupon bonds or PEACe bonds.

She had served as Chairperson of CODE-NGO from July 1998 to January 2001, prior to the design and auction of the bonds. It was under the outstanding leadership of Marissa Camacho Reyes that the PEACe Bonds were conceptualized and designed. The PEACe Bonds has since been lauded internationally as an innovative means of raising resources for the poverty reduction programs of non-government and people’s organizations.

The Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), an independent, non-stock, non-profit foundation set up to preserve and manage the income derived from the sale of the PEACe Bonds in the financial market.  PEF has helped fund potable water systems, livelihood programs, social enterprises, and renewable energy projects of over 1,200 organizations benefiting 300,000 households or more than 1 million Filipinos. These are detailed in the annual reports of the foundation projects, which are audited by reputable firms and which can be downloaded from its website: www.pef.ph.

CODE-NGO also publishes its annual reports and audited financial reports, submits these to the Securities and Exchange Commission and posts these in our website (www.code-ngo.org) – easily accessible by any interested politician, columnist or ordinary citizen.

Still, as CODE-NGO is a staunch advocate of transparency and accountability, we welcome and support the call of Sen. Edgardo Angara to include the PEACe Bonds in the investigations to be carried out by the Truth Commission. Actually, the Senate and the House of Representatives have already exhaustively investigated the PEACe Bonds in 2002, and both failed to file a committee report as they found no evidence of impropriety. We look forward to a transparent and independent investigation by the Truth Commission to put closure to this rehashed issue which critics are now using to attack personalities who were not even involved.