Solon seeks strict watch on intelligence funds

A House leader sought yesterday a strict congressional monitoring of the intelligence funds of the Armed Forces, the Philippine National Police and other agencies to prevent the misuse of the money.

Deputy Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano (Lakas, Taguig-Pateros) said reports about the purchase by the disbanded Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) of P30 million worth of surveillance equipment and the illegal use of such gadgets make it imperative for Congress to now exercise its oversight functions over these funds.

The gadgets were seized in Pasig City last week by police from former agents of then PAOCTF chief and now Sen. Panfilo Lacson. They were reportedly used by Lacson’s men to spy on opposition personalities during ousted President Joseph Estrada’s impeachment trial.

"It is now clear that Congress cannot simply appropriate billions in intelligence funds without providing for an effective mechanism for check and balance," Cayetano said.

He said while other appropriations are subject to rigid auditing, intelligence funds are not being accounted for in detail and could thus be misused.

He said he is for giving the Armed Forces and the PNP intelligence funds, but Congress must now exercise vigilance over the use of such funds.

He added that he would propose that the House and the Senate create a joint oversight committee to monitor the disbursement of such money.

Agencies with intelligence money are required to submit quarterly reports on the use of such funds to the House and the Senate, but they routinely ignore the requirement.

For next year, these agencies will get more than P1 billion for spying operations. Nearly half of that amount will be appropriated for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

The commission is an Estrada creation that President Arroyo has decided to keep, although she has disbanded its major operating unit, Lacson’s PAOCTF, after many of its officers and agents were implicated in several crimes.

According to opposition Rep. Abraham Mitra (LDP, Palawan), PAOCC has a P576-million appropriation under Mrs. Arroyo’s P781-billion 2002 budget proposal.

He said more than P400 million of that would be in intelligence funds.

"Could this be the reason that the Palace chose to keep the PAOCC?" he asked.

Mitra proposed that the commission be abolished especially in the light of the fact that the President has created another anti-crime body, the National Anti-Crime Commission (NACC), which is chaired by Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, and for which Mrs. Arroyo is seeking a P12-million appropriation for next year.

"The more than P500 million that the President is seeking for PAOCC could better be used to subsidize some government hospitals or buy textbooks for millions of students who have to share scarce school supplies," he said.