Malacañang Tuesday asked Public Works Secretary and Road Board chairman Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and executive director Rodolfo Puno to shed light on their alleged hand in the misuse of P56.5 billion in road user’s tax after the Senate recommended the filing of plunder charges against them.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said the two officials should submit themselves before a congressional investigation to “clear their names.”

The Senate Committee on Economic Affairs led by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago called for the filing of criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against Ebdane, Puno and other members of the Road Board.

“We respect the recommendation of the Senate Committee. There should be full account on the alleged use and abuse of the road user’s tax. We welcome the investigation,” Fajardo said, as she expressed confidence that the Road User’s Tax Board could defend itself.

She also expressed Malacañang’s openness to Defensor’s proposal to form a special Senate oversight committee on the road user’s tax.

The Palace official said there is no need yet for the involved officials to file a leave of absence.

“I think the best thing to do now is for Secretary Ebdane and the Road User’s Tax Board to explain and to give their side to Congress,” Fajardo said.

For his part, Ebdane said all projects implemented by the Road Board utilizing funds from the Motor Vehicle Users Charge conformed to the requirements of Republic Act 8794 and were properly documented.

“If necessary, we can always go to the ground to check and verify the status of the projects we have approved. Our documentation is complete, and our record of disbursement covers all the allotments that have been made,” he said in a press conference.

The Board, which oversees and administers the multi-billion funds, is under the Office of the President.

The Board chairman is the secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, with the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications and two nominees from motorists and transport groups as members.

The Board members were accused of involvement in the “unconscionable road tax anomalies involving billions of pesos” and of not observing the guidelines as to how the road tax collections should be spent.

Ebdane cited his adherence to the strict procedures involving Road Board resolutions contrary to allegations of misusing the funds against him.

“The recommendations on what projects to undertake come from the district engineers on the ground, with due consultation and concurrence from the local government units involved as well as the Congressional representative,” he explained.

Asked if politics has something to do with the planned filing of charges against him, Ebdane replied: “We cannot categorically say that because we have to identify the person who provided the data. We even didn’t know whether it’s Senator (Miriam) Santiago; maybe somebody else. It depends on the source of the document.”

Ebdane said a smear campaign against him was launched after he made known to the public his intention to join the presidential race in the May 2010 elections.