Senate reconstitutes oversight body on intelligence, funds

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate has reconstituted the oversight committee on intelligence and confidential funds that would monitor the use of discretionary funds of the different agencies in government.

Intelligence and confidential funds are prone to abuse by heads of agencies because the disbursement is purely at their discretion.

These funds are also not subject to normal auditing procedures of the Commission on Audit and are usually liquidated by means of a mere certification.

Sen. Francis Escudero was designated chairman of the committee in response to his resolution calling for the reconstitution of the oversight committee.

Escudero said the recipients of the funds should be held accountable to ensure that the money is used only for legitimate purposes.

“Intelligence funds are used to gather information by those entities with enforcement function. They should work expediently with the budget that they receive,” Escudero said.

He said that oversight over the use of the funds is necessary considering their discretionary nature.

Escudero noted that the fiscal autonomy of some agencies often leads to abuses through the misuse of the discretionary funds.

“How these funds are used and spent should run corollary to strengthened safety nets of our intelligence community which in turn provides a safe and orderly environment for our people,” he said.

Several senators including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile have opposed the grant of intelligence funds to agencies that do not have any functions that have anything to do with security or intelligence gathering.

The intelligence funds of each agency usually run to several millions of pesos.

“The intent of the Senate in constituting the oversight body is to check the efficiency of such relevant institutions in the prevention of crimes and apprehension of criminals to assure the public that the money they put under the care of these agencies is used for the collective benefit of the people,” Escudero said.