Trillanes wants proper use of President’s intel funds

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

A senator demanded on Tuesday that the Office of the President (OP) allocate enough funds to six agencies responsible for intelligence gathering and ensure that its P2.5-billion budget for intelligence and confidential funds would not be used to finance the administration’s army of online trolls.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said the OP did not comply with its commitment to the Senate last year to allocate sufficient intelligence funds to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime, Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement, National Coast Watch Council, the Presidential Complaint Center, the Anti-Terrorism Council and the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission.

“All of these agencies require intelligence funds but they never had any for the past year and in good faith, I allowed the budget of the OP particularly its intelligence fund to breeze through last year with the understanding that your office will comply with your commitment to give them enough funds,” he told Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.