EDITORIAL - De la Paz tells his story

From a contingency fund, the 105,000 euros in cash confiscated from the Philippine National Police delegation by Russian authorities has evolved into an intelligence fund, which is subject to more lax accounting rules. Finally facing the Senate last Saturday, retired police general Eliseo de la Paz said the cash was supposed to be spent on intelligence equipment that the generals might have found as they proceeded to the second leg of their European tour, to Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and Vienna.

There were comic moments as incredulous senators, including administration allies, grilled De la Paz and other officials of the Philippine National Police who attended the 77th general assembly of the International Police in Moscow. De la Paz was apprehended at the Moscow airport together with his wife Maria Fe, Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal and his wife as well as Cynthia Verzosa, wife of PNP chief Jesus Verzosa, for carrying the 105,000 euros in excess of the allowable currency limit.

De la Paz testified that the buck stopped with him. The Senate hearing showed that though he was about to retire, he had overruled a junior officer who had questioned the release of millions for the PNP delegation. This was during the tenure of Verzosa’s predecessor, Avelino Razon. As Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago pointed out, if De la Paz wanted to take full responsibility for what is now being called the euroscam, he should be ready for the likely stiff punishment.

Apart from prosecuting De la Paz, the government should also review the rules on PNP fund disbursements and travel allowances especially when the money is taken from intelligence or contingency funds. By their nature, a certain degree of opaqueness can be allowed in the use of intelligence funds. But rules on overseas travel allowances and supply procurement can rarely be bended in the interest of intelligence gathering. There are lessons to be learned from this case, and concerned agencies must move to prevent a repeat of the scandal.