MANILA, Philippines ? A P1 billion budget sought by the Department of National Defense (DND) for a military project was not released by the Department of Budget and Management because the DND failed to comply with the government?s ?no report, no budget? policy, Budget Secretary Florencio ?Butch? Abad said Wednesday.

In a Radyo Inquirer interview, Abad identified the program as the Kalayaan sa Barangay (Freedom in the Villages) program.

Abad said that in their records, only the name and the total amount of the project was stated but not the objective and procedure of the program.

The budget amounting to nearly P1 billion was not released, Abad said.

But in a separate interview with INQUIRER.net, Brigadier General Jose Mabanta, Armed Forces spokesman, said that the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace Process was the chief implementor of the Kalayaan para sa Barangay project.

Mabanta said the Kalayaan para sa Barangay sought to provide basic services like building farm-to-market roads and water irrigation for insurgent infested areas.

The military?s role in this is to identify which areas the project could be implemented, Mabanta said.

The OPAPP has yet to comment on this.

Abad said the Aquino administration would strictly implement the ?no report, no budget release? policy for government offices following the disclosure of the ?send-off? money for the Armed Forces chiefs of staff.

Abad said this meant that all government agencies would be required to submit a budget accountability report to the Department of Finance if they would want their budget released.

?The rules on releases at the DBM were lax before that?s why even if there was no accountability report, the government continues to give the funds,? Abad said in Filipino.

?Even before this hearing, we have noticed that the DND did not file reports about its past expenses in its budget,? Abad said.

But Mabanta said, ?We?ve been doing this, we?ve been complying with this. This is part of the auditing process.?

Abad also said that only government agencies which needed intelligence funds would be given the budget for it following retired Lieutenant Colonel Rabusa revelation that the intelligence fund was the cash-cow for former military and defense officials.

?Kung hindi sila maglalabas ng tinatawag nating budget accountability report, hindi na kami maglalabas ng kanilang budget [If they won?t come out with what we call a budget accountability report, then we won?t release funds],? Abad told Radyo Inquirer.

He added that the Department of Finance would publish the financial statements of all government agencies on its website.

In a Senate investigation, Rabusa alleged that other military officials had connived with former AFP comptroller Carlos Garcia who is facing plunder raps for amassing millions of pesos. Among those linked to the case was former Armed Forces and Defense chief Angelo Reyes.

For the report, listen to Radyo Inquirer, DZIQ 990.