While the intel community has been criticized in the wake of the Marawi attack, latest COA report somehow vindicates our local spies from such backlash. Read why.
Based on the 2016 COA report, Congress received P1.4b budget as Intel funds while the AFP, DND and the PNP fought for crumbs among themselves to go around for intel gathering.
To add insult to injury, the Senate got P258m intel funds, which is slightly bigger than the PNP, the different AFP intel units and the DND.
Please check the image below for your enligtenment.
Credits to photo owner
The former DILG Secretary of the Ramos government, Rafael Alunan III took to Facebook condemning the anomalous budget allocation of the Lower House Congress calling it as ‘malfeasance and misfeseance’.
He said this explains why the country is screwed by the enemy from without with the help from within and lamented these are the people that Duterte are up against.
Read the full text of the post below.
WTF? Is this correct? It’s supposed to if it’s from COA based on its 2016 audit, the last year of Daang Matuwid. What was it like since 1999? Is it unchanged today? It better be.
Why would Congress hold on to intelligence funds when its role is to make laws and provide oversight? Goddam, it isn’t an operating unit of the AFP or of the PNP.
Malfeasance and misfeasance come to mind. What else? No wonder we’re screwed by the enemy from without. They have help from the enemy within. And they’re quick to accuse the security sector of intelligence failures?
If that graph is correct, then that explains the state of the nation where vested interests come before national interests. Where malgovernance reigns over a hapless society. That’s what PRRD is up against.
Agree or disagree?
Meanwhile, former military rebel and retired Scout Ranger Abe Purugganan joined Alunan in castigating Congress on Facebook for the highly questionable intel budget when its job is to make laws and not intel gathering.
He laments the intel community gets the flak when there is a breach of security, for example, the Marawi incident and the Davao blast under the Duterte administration.
In light of the COA report, Purugganan believes the people should lay the blame on Congress for undermining our intelligence community.
In the end, he demanded Congress to re-allocate their intel funds to the intelligence units.
Read the post below.
Now, this is really madness. This is irresponsible. Why allocate funds to Congress when their job is to make laws and not intelligence work. And unfortunately, we blame the intelligence community for the failure of intelligence when there are breaches in our national security. We should instead blame Congress for undermining our intelligence community. Our intelligence units with a very small budget are staking out their lives and scrounging for resources to fund their intel operations and here they are, legislators, awash with intel funds that are basically discretionary funds for their own personal use, and worst, these are not subjected to audit. This intel fund in Congress is a convenient sytem for corruption.
If we want a secure nation, our intelligence operations must be well funded. Intelligence and information are expensive. Lives are on the line here not only for the operatives but the lives of every Filipino that is supposed to be protected by the state by being proactive thru intelligence work. Knowing our enemy and preventing their plans from being carried out is intel work, a national security and national defense function, and not a legislative work.
Our soldiers are dying in the field. Our citizens are endangered. This money could have been used to mitigate the risks in the field and in our communities.
As a citizen of this country, I demand that Congress re-allocate their intel funds to the intelligence units. Please send this message to your congressmen.
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Based on the Commission on Audit (COA) Report 2016, the total expenditure of intelligence funds in the Congress extends to P1.4 billion which is higher than the Senate and the total intelligence funds of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force. (Courtesy of Defense Daily News)
The COA report likewise anger social media, demanding them to stop the practice while calling the Congressmen with all sorts of names that should render them speechless if they bother to read the comments.
Victorio M Ramos remarked: “This is really too much, why are our lawmakers gets a share of the Intelligence fund for what? are they intelligence units too, are they or do they have people collecting information/raw intelligence? Look at the sharing, members of the congress, who gets the lion share of the Intel fund…How big and reliable intelligence information output do you produce? This has to be stopped, concentrate on your job as lawmakers.”
Jojo Bumanlag wrote: “An unintelligent distrbutiion of intel fund …. it is called kasakiman… is it true that a large group of baboons are called CONGRESS?”
Joriell Abrico commented: “What the heck? Both chambers have intel funds? Considering their mandate is to legislate laws!! I find it preposterous!! No wonder PDu30’s every move is monitored by his nemesis in both chambers because they’re using the intel funds for their own benefits! This absurdity was used by Trollanes to gather info against the President!!”
Your thoughts?
Sources: Rafael Alunan III, Abe Purugganan
