A report released by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) accuses Gabaake of failure to clear the arrears with P10,500 still outstanding. The PAC says that an Accounting Officer revealed that the former MP had at some point been paying the debt using personal cheques that were dishonoured by the bank. Gabaake then sought to pay the debt through a direct deduction from his pension. But the pension managers said they do not make such arrangements. "..Gabaake reportedly offered an alternative of paying P500 per month, and had since started paying, though irregularly. The last payment was on May 12, 2010," the latest PAC report says.
The former MP confirmed that he is still paying the arrears and he is on the verge of clearing the debt. However, he said the ministry should take responsibility for delayed payment because it has rejected his proposals. He said that he had offered to pay the debt through cheques but the ministry responsible for Parliament refused. "It's a lie that my cheques bounced," he said. He added that he offered to make the payments through a stop order through his bank but the ministry refused to provide the account number. Later, he decided to pay by cash and he is left with a small amount to settle the debt, he said. Gabaake was MP from 1994-1999.
