FORMER Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon yesterday said the Senate can reconstitute its oversight committee on intelligence and confidential funds to monitor and scrutinize the disbursement of the multi-billion lumpsum funds.
In a television interview, Drilon said the committee was constituted during the 17th and 18th Congress and looked into the utilization of the confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) of various government agencies.
“The confidential and intelligence funds can be scrutinized by Congress in the exercise of its oversight function. I call upon Congress to activate the oversight committee on intelligence and confidential funds… In the budget cycle, they can reduce or completely remove the allocation for CIFs where they see abuse when the accounting is made in an executive session,” Drilon said.
Drilon recalled that in 2017, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 361 that reconstituted the Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds “to enable the Senate to oversee the efficiency of concerned government institutions in the production of accurate and timely intelligence information to better deal with the threats of national security, including the maintenance of peace and order.”
He said the same was done by the Senate in 2020 during the 18th Congress when it adopted Senate Resolution No. 310 that allowed the oversight committee to look into the disbursement of the P9.26 billion CIFs in the 2020 General Appropriations Act.
This, he said, would help allay public concerns of possible misuse and abuse of the secret funds.
“Transparency requires that there will be a public disclosure of what this is all about… It’s a matter of properly enforcing a post-audit of the funds in an executive session by the Senate and for COA (Commission on Audit) to exercise its prerogative to disallow certain expenses where they consider as not proper,” Drilon said.
“Without making any public disclosure on how the funds are disbursed, the COA can disapprove the particular accounting and require reimbursement from the agency,” he added.
Drilon said that based on the guidelines on the use of CIFs under Joint Circular No. 2015-01 issued in 2015, confidential funds can be used for the purchase of information necessary for the formulation and implementation of program, activities and projects relevant to national security and peace and order; rental of transport vehicle related to confidential activities, rentals and the incidental expenses related to the maintenance of safehouses, or purchase or rental of supplies, materials and equipment for confidential operations that cannot be done through regular procedures without compromising the information gathering activity concerned, among others.
The same circular states that intelligence funds can be used for intelligence and counterintelligence activities that have direct impact to national security, and for special projects and case operation plans as approved by the head of the agency involving covert or semi-covert psychological, internal security operation, and peace and order activities, as well as programs/projects/campaigns against lawlessness and lawless elements involving intelligence activities.
“I have no proof that it is being abused but given the wide discretion granted to the agency on the basis of the guidelines issued by COA, it is a fund that can be abused,” Drilon said.
He said there are over 30 agencies with allocation for CIFs in the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 topped by the Office of the President with P4.5 billion and various civilian agencies.
“The burden is on the agency concerned to justify that they need CIFs in order to fulfill their mandate,” he said.
INTEL FUNDS
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday told law enforcement agencies to use their intelligence funds wisely to prevent mis-encounters.
Pimentel made the pitch as the Senate tackled the proposed P252.6 billion budget next year of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and its attached agencies, of which P100.6 million are in confidential funds (CIFs) for the Office of the Secretary, and P806 million are in intelligence funds for the PNP.
Pimentel said next year’s DILG’s confidential funds is P20 million higher than this year’s CIF of P80.6 million, while it is the same amount being asked by the PNP for next year.
Pimentel said the PNP should utilize its intelligence funds wisely so that future mis-encounters can be avoided, just like what happened between the police and agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in February 2021 in a parking space of a mall in Quezon City, wherein four people were killed.
“The PNP has intelligence funds, the PDEA has intelligence funds of P500 million and these things happen? How do we explain this? What was that which happened?” Pimentel said.
He said a shootout between the PNP operatives and PDEA agents could have been prevented if concerned law enforcement agencies made intelligent use of their respective secret funds, which they can also use for counter-intelligence operations.
“Combined billions na ‘yung intel funds (That is already billions [of pesos] in combined intel funds.) Whether intelligence, confidential, or regular funds that is not the proper way of spending it,” he said.
Finance committee chairman Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who defended the DILG budget, said “they admit there is a greater need for intelligence information sharing.”
On the case cited by Pimentel. Angara said the National Bureau of Investigation was tasked by former President Duterte investigate the incident.
Pimentel asked whether there is final report on the incident, to which Angara replied: “No final report yet.”
He said since the PNP has been asking almost the same amount of intel funds yearly, the DILG should “itemize” it in the next budget cycle.
“Yan din ang pinaggagamitan lagi yearly, maybe recurring expenses or too common that they deserve an actual line in the budget. Have it itemized, ilantad na nang makita ng taumbayan na doon pupunta (Those are the expenses every year, maybe recurring expenses or too common that they deserve an actual line in the budget. Have it itemized, expose them so that the people will know where it will be spent for),” Pimentel said.
Pimentel likewise questioned the Office of the DILG Secretary as to why it needed confidential funds in the amount of P100.6 million next year.
Angara said the Office of the DILG secretary needs confidential funds to sustain the government’s fight against illegal drugs, for information gathering on erring cops, firemen, or jail personnel; for monitoring the activities of local officials involved in various illegal activities, surveillance of cybercrime offenders, the conduct of sweeping operations in jail in search for contrabands, and for monitoring of government employees reported to be involved in illegal activities, among others.
Aside from the confidential funds, Angara said the DILG also has a share in the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to help in the fight against insurgents.
“I think there is an item in the PNP budget for that. There are funds scattered in the different agencies to implement program, P1.08 billion in the PNP for monitoring to address the root cause of insurgency,” he added.
The NTF ELCAC budget is found in the Assistance to Local Government Units in the National Expenditure Program.
Still on the DILG budget, Pimentel asked the Bureau of Fire Protection how many firetrucks it plans to purchase next year considering that more than 200 municipalities nationwide still do not have their own fire stations.
Angara said the BFP is planning to buy 66 firetrucks at P15 million per unit for 2023.
He said that for every 10 firetruck bought, eight will be given to first and second class municipalities, while two will go to municipalities without fire stations.
Pimentel said the BFP should purchase more firetrucks, saying the allocation for it can be taken from its P26.7 billion for next year.
“You need to access your funds more. Aside from buying firetrucks, you have a role in emergency situation so you can buy ambulances, rescue vehicles…I will appeal to raise that ceiling,” Pimentel said.
Angara said the BFP has in its itemized budget an allocation for six ambulances and three rescue vehicles next year.
MODEL AGENCY
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday urged the Office of the Ombudsman to be the “model agency” in being transparent with the use of its confidential funds which it has been receiving since 2018.
The Ombudsman is asking for P51.468 million in confidential funds for 2023.
If the Ombudsman’s confidential funds will be retained by Congress, Pimentel said it can lead by example by reporting and liquidating the said funds which he said “is the way to be more transparent in the reporting and use of confidential funds.”
Finance committee chairman Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara said the Ombudsman has left to the discretion of the Senate whether to retain, decrease, or delete its confidential funds.
If the confidential funds is removed, Pimentel said the Ombudsman can use it for its other programs, similar to what the Energy Regulatory Commission did after it realigned the P15 million confidential funds that it requested for next year to its other programs which needed extra funds.
After a series of questioning, the Senate approved the Ombudsman’s proposed budget of P4.7 billion at the plenary level.
In an interview with the Senate media, Pimentel said confidential funds should be deleted from civilian government agencies since they have survived without it in the past.
“Maraming agency ang papaki-usapan na i-let go na lang kasi marami ang nangangailangan ng pondo (There are a lot of agencies which we can request to let go of their confidential funds because there are a lot of agencies which need additional funds),” Pimentel said.
In the case of the Department of Education, he said, it can realign its P500 million confidential funds for the construction of more classrooms.
“Ano ang mas tugma sa mandato ng Deped, intel o classroom? (What’s more apt for the DepEd mandate, intelligence or classrooms?)” he said.
DPWH BUDGET
During Tuesday’s plenary discussions, Sen. Raffy Tulfo urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to require contractors for infrastructure projects to secure insurance for accidental death or injuries of workers and motorists.
The DPWH is asking for P737.36 billion for 2023.
Tulfo said many contractors skirt responsibility for injuries or deaths of its workers and motorists during accidents on construction sites.
“On so many occasions, we have received reports of accidents on the site of government projects because of inadequate safety measures in place. To make matters worse is the lack of liability insurance for the death and injuries,” he said.
Angara, who defended the DPWH’s budget, said Public Works Sec. Manuel Bonoan has assured the committee that contractors will be required to provide insurance to their workers by next year.
COA SPECIAL AUDIT
Also yesterday, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros rebuked the COA for the delay in coming out with the special audit report on the alleged COVID-19 funds misuse particularly involving the deal entered into by the government with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation.
Hontiveros said COA chairman Michael Aguinaldo on January 2022 said the agency was already finalizing its special audit report on the government’s pandemic-related supply deals with Pharmally, which was supposed to have been released last March.
Aguinaldo made the committed during his confirmation hearing during the Commission on Appointments deliberation on his nomination as the agency’s new head.
When Hontiveros asked for an update on the COA special report, Angara said that the agency will soon release its final report.
“That’s a good point, the new chairman is warming his seat. He pledged to be on top of the situation and submit the report in two months. They are in the final stages,” Angara said.
Hontiveros said she wanted to get the assurance from COA that the final audit report will be out in two months’ time.
“Yes, they say it will be the last extension for that report,” Angara said.
Hontiveros said she wants to see the final special audit report so the people can be informed what specific crimes were committed and who were involved so they can be held accountable.
Pimentel likewise asked why COA, which is a civilian agency, requested P10 million in confidential funds for next year.
Angara said COA “had it for some time now,” at least he said for the last 10 years, which was used “to help detect audit fraud and prevent them from happening.”
Pimentel then asked who audits the disbursement of the agency’s confidential funds.
Angara said the COA audits itself, which is done under the office of the COA chairman called Intelligence and Confidential Funds Unit.
He said the unit has issued at least 50 notices of disallowance within the agency, including to the COA head itself.
If issued a notice of disallowance, Angara said the concerned officer is asked to return the funds involved.
