Bayan Muna seeks audit of anti-communist task force funds

MANILA, Philippines — A party-list group Bayan Muna has asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to look into the funding of a task force leading a campaign against communist insurgents.

Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna complained that the P36.34 billion given to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for 2020 cannot be found in the General Appropriations Act.

In a letter to COA chief Michael Aguinaldo, Zarate sought clarification on the legality of fund releases for the NTF-ELCAC, citing the constitutional rule that no public funds shall be spent unless covered by an appropriation law.

—Melvin Gascon