‘Rody can use P2.5-B intel fund vs De Lima’

MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte can use his P2.5-billion intelligence fund for 2017 to build a strong case against Sen. Leila de Lima, whom he has linked to illegal drugs, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said yesterday.

Asked in a television interview if the President could use his intelligence budget against those named in his “drug matrix,” the budget chief said yes.

Duterte has said De Lima tops the matrix, which includes her former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan who, according to the President, was the former justice secretary’s link to convicted drug lords serving time at the New Bilibid Prison.

De Lima has denied receiving money from Bilibid convicts. She said she could not fight the President, who has all the power and resources of the executive branch that he could use against her.

Duterte’s intelligence fund for next year is five times more than that of his predecessor, former president Benigno Aquino III.

Diokno justified the 500-percent increase, saying his Palace boss himself requested for the huge hike.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the amount is in fact the biggest in Philippine history.

“He asked for it because he is facing formidable enemies,” he said.

The budget chief said the President’s war on illegal drugs is showing results.

“The previous administration had P3 billion in intelligence funds over six years. They had nothing to show for it in terms of results,” he said. He stressed Aquino should account for the money.

The P3 billion includes P500 million for this year, half of which Duterte presumably inherited from the Aquino administration when he took over last June 30.

Diokno also justified the huge increase in Duterte’s travel fund, from P313 million to P2.1 billion.

“Every weekend, he travels to Davao City. He frequently visits military camps,” he said.

The budget for the Office of the President (OP) will go up by more than 600 times, from P2.9 billion this year to P20.030 billion next year.

The President’s intelligence and travel funds are among the biggest expense items in the OP budget.

The biggest is P7.6 billion for representation and entertainment expenses. For this year, Aquino had for this purpose only P139.3 million, of which the former president has left a balance for his successor to use.

Duterte will also have P2.1 billion for consultants, compared to Aquino’s P78.9 million.

Rent expenses will jump astronomically from P49 million to P2.3 billion, as well as communication expenses, from P23.9 million to P1.3 billion.

Spending for communications of the President’s office is separate from that incurred by the Presidential Communications Office, which has its own budget.

Duterte will have P500 million for new machinery and equipment and P160 million for new furniture, fixtures and books.

Of the P20.030-billion OP 2017 budget, only P747 million would be for salaries. 

In a statement, Lagman said President Duterte’s proposed P2-billion intelligence fund and P5.5-billion contingency fund for 2017 “appear to be the highest in history.”

“Since contingencies by their nature are not pre-determined, the Duterte administration may be expecting an avalanche of contingencies,” Lagman said.

He said the size of the allocations is “alarming,” citing the “extrajudicial and shortcut procedures employed by the present administration in pursuing its announced priorities.”

“The expenditure of confidential and intelligence funds traditionally defies or does not follow regular accounting procedures. The fund utilization is subject to abuse which is difficult to validate due to the lack of paper trails and dearth of verifiable accounts,” he added. “Due to the suspect nature of confidential and intelligence funds, the executive must be judicious or prudent in proposing huge appropriations for these expense items,” he pointed out. – With Delon Porcalla