MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) Junior police officers are in ?very high spirits? despite the controversy hounding Philippine National Police (PNP) after Russian customs officers caught a retired general carrying millions of pesos in undeclared currency, PNP officials said Thursday.

In an interview, Director Leopoldo Bataoil, the PNP chief for community relations, said the controversy has not affected the morale of the junior officers.

This was affirmed by PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome.

Retired director for comptrollership Eliseo dela Paz is still being held in Moscow after he and his wife were found in possession of P6.9 million (approximately 105,000 euros) as they were about to leave for Warsaw, Poland on Saturday.

The PNP and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the fund was for the expenses of a top-level police delegation of the 77th Interpol National Assembly in St. Petersburg, which included the wife of Director General Jesus Verzosa who did not, however, attend the event.

?Our colleagues in the PNP, especially our junior officers, should not be worried because all of our funds have been properly audited and they are properly liquidated,? Bartolome said. ?The contingency funds we sent are needed because this is a major activity and so far away, in Russia, and the Interpol general conference is very important.?

Bartolome also belied reports that some regional police stations were neglected because of poor fund distribution.

He said the PNP has increased the allocation of armaments, logistics, mobility and financial resources to lower units.

However, he said the contingency fund given the delegation to the Interpol conference ?is a different budget. This is needed because [the conference] involves transnational crimes.?