What did Ba Vang Pagoda spend all 4.1 billion VND in donations on?

Recently, Ba Vang Pagoda (Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh Province) has publicly announced the collection and disbursement of donations, sponsorship for relics and festival activities according to Official Dispatch No. 2240 of Uong Bi City People's Committee.

According to the report by Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh - abbot of Ba Vang Pagoda, the amount of donations to sponsor relics and festival activities is 4,164,500,000 VND (more than 4.1 billion VND).

Notably, the amount spent on humanitarian and charitable activities is equal to the revenue. Specifically, 20 million VND supported a poor family in Quang Trung ward, Uong Bi city to repair their house; 4.5 million VND supported 3 children in difficult circumstances in Thanh Son ward; 100 million VND supported the Nguyen Huu Duyen education encouragement fund; 140 million VND supported the construction of 2 charity houses in Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh ; 2 billion VND supported the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to build solidarity houses for poor households in Dien Bien province; 500 million VND supported the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association of the Elderly; 800 million VND supported Uong Bi city to remove temporary and dilapidated houses.

Finance - Banking - What did Ba Vang Pagoda spend all 4.1 billion VND of donations on? — Ba Vang Pagoda only reported for more than a month from March 19 to April 30, 2023.

While the relics in Quang Ninh all reported within the time required by the Ministry of Finance , which is the entire year of 2022 and the first four months of 2023, Ba Vang Pagoda only reported for more than a month, from when the circular on management of donation money of the Ministry of Finance took effect on March 19 to April 30, 2023.

The reason given by Ba Vang Pagoda is that before this circular took effect, the pagoda had not separated donations for relics and festivals from donations for religious activities of monks.

Ba Vang Pagoda believes that this is in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 04 of the Ministry of Finance and guidance document No. 62 of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

"According to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 1 of Decision No. 775 of the Ministry of Finance, the inspection period is 2022 and the first 4 months of 2023. However, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 17 of Circular No. 04, this Circular takes effect from March 19, 2023. Before Circular No. 04 took effect, religious establishments did not separate types of donation money because there were no regulations and instructions," explained the report of Ba Vang Pagoda.

In addition, Ba Vang Pagoda said that the decision on piloting the inspection of donation money at historical and cultural relics, pagodas and temples in Quang Ninh province by the Ministry of Finance in April stipulated: The inspection content is "receiving, managing and using donation money, funding for relics and festival activities".

Therefore, the pagoda only reports donations for relics and festival activities, while "donations and funding for religious activities are internal matters of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, managed according to the church's regulations".

Previously, on July 21, 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued Report No. 119 on the results of the pilot inspection of the management of donation money at historical and cultural relics, communal houses and pagodas in Quang Ninh province in 2022 and the first 4 months of 2023.

According to the report, there are up to 50 relics that do not have data reporting donation money. Among them is Ba Vang Pagoda in Uong Bi, a provincial relic, which is considered a pagoda with good donation revenue.

In response to this information, Ba Vang Pagoda issued a statement affirming that no inspection team had ever come to check the collection and disbursement of donations, and no team had ever come to request a report on donations, or any document requesting a report on donations.

"No inspection team came to inspect, and there was no request for the pagoda to submit a report on the revenue and expenditure of donations. So what basis is there to say that Ba Vang Pagoda did not report the revenue and expenditure of donations?", Ba Vang Pagoda asked.

On July 24, the People's Committee of Uong Bi City issued Official Dispatch No. 2240 requesting Ba Vang Pagoda to report on the management of donations at the pagoda according to the guidance of the Ministry of Finance .

Source