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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Palace overspent on intel funds, senator says
MANILA -- Government spent P1.2 billion more of its "confidential and intelligence" budget in 2003 and 2004, Senator Ralph Recto disclosed Tuesday.
"Funds for clandestine activities are not only being audited clandestinely but are also augmented clandestinely. The veil of secrecy on intelligence funds has made possible the improper diversion of funds to it," Recto said.
He said there was a huge difference between the confidential and intelligence funds appropriated by Congress, as contained in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and the amount actually spent, as reported by the Commission on Audit (COA).
Recto revealed that in 2003, the GAA for that year authorized a "confidential and intelligence fund" of P1.225 billion. But COA later reported that what was actually spent was P1.555 billion or P330 million more.
Since the 2003 budget was reenacted in 2004 due to Congress's failure to pass the budget that year, the same authorized level of P1.225 billion for confidential and intelligence expenses should have been maintained, Recto said.
But as it turned out, a budget allocation of P2.062 billion or higher by P837 million was earmarked and spent for intelligence funds, he added.
Recto said even the 2006 budget acknowledges a lower amount of "confidential and intelligence" expenses of P1.885 billion in 2004, "which makes it a blatant lie in the face of the COA report."
"In short, by my computation, government overshot its intelligence budget by 27 percent in 2003, and by 69 percent in 2004," Recto said.
Recto said the "flagrant violation" of the GAA when it comes to intelligence fund spending reduces the power of the purse of Congress to a farce and increases the need for congressional oversight on the use of such funds.
"Why go through the motion of putting that amount in the budget when in the end government will be spending a bigger amount without advising Congress," Recto said.
The senator said he expects Malacañang to defend the augmentation of intelligence funds by invoking the power of the President to realign funds under her control.
"But just the same, there are reportorial requirements under the law such as quarterly reports to the chairman of the House appropriations committee and the chairman of the Senate finance committee by officials who must explain how they spent their intelligence fund allocation," he said.
Under budgeting rules, "confidential and intelligence" funds form part of an agency's maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
The intelligence funds are usually given to Cabinet-rank officials to allow them to undertake intelligence gathering activities that are confidential in nature and in support of their agency's mandate.
In 2004, based on COA records, less than 10 departments received and spent intelligence funds. These were the Office of the President, Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Finance (DOF).
Recto cited the need of agencies with crucial functions to have access to a stash of funds that could be used to source information.
"There is no debate about the need. In fact, in the case of revenue agencies, I would even bat for a higher 'intel' fund so they can run after smugglers and economic saboteurs. But procedures must be followed. Oversight must not be relaxed," Recto said.
The "confidential and intelligence funds" Recto was pertaining to are "largely distinct and separate" from the budget of civilian and military intelligence gathering agencies.
"The budgets of the intelligence agencies would include money for salaries, payment of utilities, rent, supplies, gas and etc. What am I referring to are pure intelligence funds which are used by agencies, even by those not involved in the spying business," Recto added. (JMR/Sunnex)
(September 21, 2005 issue)
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