PNP might ask for additional budget to secure pork scam detainees

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) is mulling over asking the government for additional budget now that it is in charge of providing security for pork-barrel scam detainees.

Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP Public Information Office chief, said in a press briefing on Tuesday the PNP might ask for supplemental budget to fund their expenses for the security of Janet Lim-Napoles, Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile.

Enrile, however, has not been officially committed to the PNP General Hospital, where he is currently held, pending orders of the Sandiganbayan.

“But then again I reiterate that this is only temporary because we are not the primary government agency that puts detainees into custody,” he said in Filipino.

The PNP spends roughly P120,000 for every trip of Napoles out of her detention bungalow at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Asked how much the PNP shells out for the trips of jailed senators, Sindac said in a separate briefing that the PNP has not quantified it yet.

But he said the PNP spends less for Estrada and Revilla’s trips compared to that of Napoles.

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