Filtered by: Topstories
News

Tolentino calls for more transparency from COA regarding CIF use


Senator Francis Tolentino on Wednesday said the Commission on Audit (COA) should reveal more information about which government agencies have been mishandling its confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the national budget.

Tolentino, who is seeking reelection as senator, said this when asked on Super Radyo dzBB’s “Ikaw na Ba? The Senatorial Interviews” on how he thinks the use of CIF can be improved.

“Siguro po, ilahad lalo ng COA kung sino ang mga nagba-violate, kung ano ‘yung mga naging pamantayan, at kung sino ‘yung mga nakinabang doon sa mga confidential funds,” the senator answered.

(I think the COA should reveal more information on who those who violated were, what the grounds were, and who benefited from the confidential funds.)

Confidential expenses are expenses related to surveillance/confidential activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the agency.

Meanwhile, intelligence expenses are expenses related to intelligence information gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel and intelligence practitioners that have a direct impact on national security.

Data from COA’s Annual Financial Report revealed that the Office of the President was the top CIF spender for 2023 with a combined P4.56 billion.

It was followed by the Justice Department with P683,853,000, and by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with P500 million.

COA also noted that the Office of the Vice President (OVP), which was facing congressional inquiries for its confidential fund use, outspent several agencies like the Department of National Defense, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and National Security Council, with a P375 million confidential fund spending in 2023.

 

 

Metro traffic

As the former chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Tolentino also put forward solutions to solve traffic in the metro, one of which is by transferring some government offices and big universities to the provinces.

“Palagay ko ‘yung paglalabas ng ibang tanggapan at siguro ng maging ilang—maraming magagalit sa’kin—malalaking unibersidad na nagsisiksikan sa Morayta, Legarda, España. Magagalit lahat sa’kin ‘yan eh, siguro pag-aralan nating ilabas,” he said.

(I think some government offices and big universities that are housed in Morayta, Legarda, and España should be transferred elsewhere. They will be angry with me, but maybe we should study this.)

Tolentino said that some big government agencies can be moved to other areas such as in Clark in Pampanga, to help ease the traffic in Metro Manila.

He also lamented that the mobility in Metro Manila is not anchored with the mass transport system.

“Nagkaron tayo nung nakaraang panahon ng another version ng car manufacturing program. Dapat siguro i-review ‘yun kung talagang kailangan na…kasi konting down payment, may kotse na kaagad tayo. Padagdag tayo nang padagdag. Eh sa records ng LTO, sila nga hindi na makagawa ng plaka eh,” he said.

(Before, we made another version of the car manufacturing program. Maybe this should be reviewed… because nowadays, when we only give a little down payment, we'll have a car right away. There are more and more cars now, and the LTO could no longer even produce license plates.)

 

 

Jueteng

Tolentino also said he is in favor of the legalization of jueteng if it would not lead to abuse and would boost the state coffers.

Aside from this, he also said he supports restoring the death penalty for heinous crimes and drug trafficking.

But when asked about his thoughts on the Oplan Tokhang drug war, Tolentino said, “Siguro po magkaron ng mga mechanisms para walang abuse, para wala na ‘tong mga EJK (extrajudicial killings) at ma-protektahan rin ang karapatang pantao ng ating mga kababayan.”

(There should be mechanisms in place so that there will be no abuse, no more EJKs, and the human rights of our countrymen can also be protected.)

He also said that he rejects divorce in the Philippines.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News