Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei denied Thursday an accusation by a regional non-government group and media reports of questionable financial accounting and involvement in a Philippines election scandal.
"We categorically state that our financial accounts are all in order and that we were not involved in any way in any 'election scandal, '" Carlo L. Aquino, head of Assistance of Nationals, MECO-Taiwan, said in a statement.
The statement was in response to a Feb. 2 press release by the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) , which is based in Hong Kong, in which APMM Managing Director Ramon Bultron claimed that MECO transferred 30 million pesos (US$580,832) to the office of the president in August 2003, nine months before the 2004 presidential election. Bultron also accused MECO of failing to take care of Filipino workers in Taiwan.
MECO said in the statement that it funds itself entirely from the fees it collects for its consular services and does not collect any fees from workers, while MECO financial accounts are audited on a regular basis.
"MECO, in collaboration with the Philippine Department of Labor, deploys over 25 personnel in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung to look after our workers, " MECO-Taipei Labor Representative Reynaldo C. Gopez said in the statement.
MECO represents Philippine interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.