News Roundup 25 November 2022
Nov 25, 2022 • 5 min Read
Top secret: Why confidential, intelligence funds in 2023 budget draw suspicions | INQUIRER.NET – While confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) are “shrouded in mystery,” some government agencies, even those that are not responsible for national security or law enforcement are still receiving billions of pesos worth of such funds. Back in 2021, the Office of the President (OP), which was still led then by President Rodrigo Duterte, was given P4.5 billion in CIF, all of which were spent on confidential and intelligence expenses. The Commission on Audit (COA) had said the OP accounted for 49.55 percent of the P9.082 billion in total CIF spending last year. It was slightly lower than the P4.636 billion that the office spent in 2020. A total of P1.9 billion was likewise spent by the Department of National Defense (DND), while the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) spent P908.4 million for confidential and intelligence expenses. The Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) spent P258.2 million, P60.6 million, P31.8 million, and P20 million, respectively. Likewise, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) spent P16.8 million and P15 million on confidential and intelligence expenses in 2021. But last month, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the problem is that the use of CIF is “shrouded in mystery and the supposed audit by the COA could not be disclosed to the Congress and the public.” Lagman, who is now president of the Liberal Party, stressed that because of this, CIF “breed[s] corruption, and the more enormous the funds are, the greater the magnitude is for the possibility of graft.” This was the reason that this year, he and some opposition lawmakers, like Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and Sen. Risa Hontiveros had been calling on Congress to scrap the excessive CIF in the P5.268 trillion proposed 2023 budget. Lagman said the government asked for P9.2 billion in CIF for next year, including the P4.5 billion and P500 million allocated to the OP and the Office of the Vice President (OVP). The Department of Education (DepEd), which is likewise headed by Vice President Sara Duterte, was set to receive P150 million in CIF, as reflected in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for next year. As stressed by Pimentel, they hoped colleagues would vote against the CIF of agencies that are not responsible for national security or law enforcement, saying that there is “mounting public pressure” against these.
Raps vs 2 suspects in rape-slay of Palawan woman junked | INQUIRER.NET – Prosecutors have dismissed the complaints filed by the city police against the two primary suspects in the rape and homicide of Jovelyn Galleno, noting that the evidence presented were not enough to establish probable cause. In a 23-page resolution, the city prosecutors said the evidence “miserably failed” to establish the guilt of Leobert Dasmariñas and Jovert Valdestamon, who were accused of raping and killing Galleno. The circumstances surrounding Galleno’s case went viral on social media and sparked speculation among the locals for more than a month after she went missing on Aug. 5. On Aug. 21, the city police arrested Dasmariñas after he allegedly stabbed Valdestamon following a heated argument while having a drinking session. The two were later identified as relatives of Galleno. Police investigators later said Dasmariñas confessed to raping and killing Galleno before dumping her remains in Sitio Pulang Lupa, Barangay Sta. Lourdes, a few meters from her residence. Major Noel Manalo, chief of police station 2, said Dasmariñas claimed he wanted to silence Valdestamon, who might testify against him. Dasmariñas, however, recanted his confessions, stating that investigators forced him to admit to the crime. The skeletal remains, including a skull believed to be that of Galleno, were found two days after the arrest of the suspects, where Dasmariñas said they dumped her, along with several of her other belongings. However, the skeleton discovered in Sitio Pulang Lupa sparked outrage online, with netizens questioning how Galleno’s body decomposed to such a state in just two weeks. The police subjected the skeletal remains to a DNA test, cross-matching them with that of Galleno’s sisters, which later resulted in a 99.9-percent match. Galleno’s family, however, still doubted the police investigation, prompting them to seek help from the National Bureau of Investigation, which conducted another DNA test. The NBI test yielded the same result. The police then filed rape and homicide complaints against the two suspects on Aug. 31. But the prosecutors said Dasmariñas’ confession was made under duress, which is inadmissible under Section 3, Rule 133 of the Rules of Court. The prosecution also noted that Dasmariñas’ admission to the crime was made without the presence of legal counsel, including the interview made by a media personality. In the resolution, the prosecutors said the results of the DNA test and the clothes, which were found negative for any DNA profile of the victim, failed to establish rape and that the extrajudicial pieces of evidence presented were not enough to prove a conspiracy to kill Galleno.
TUPAD scam: Ex-QC lawmaker faces graft case | PHILSTAR.COM – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed a complaint for graft against former Quezon City representative Precious Hipolito-Castelo, two officials of the Department of Labor and Employment, and five others over their alleged involvement in the anomalous implementation of the DOLE’s cash-for-work program Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD). The respondents were allegedly involved in the anomalous disbursement of funds amounting to P56,640,612 for the TUPAD program in Quezon City’s District 2, according to the 24-page complaint filed before the ombudsman on Nov. 7. Facing graft charges are Castelo, DOLE National Capital Region director Sarah Buena Mirasol and Quezon City field office director Joel Petaca. Also charged were TUPAD “coordinators” Jacquelyn Sales, Rosalie Buena, Margie Varon, Elizabeth Martinez and Norie Valerio. The respondents are also facing administrative charges of grave misconduct, gross negligence and conduct prejudicial to public interest. In a radio interview yesterday, NBI spokesperson Gisele Garcia-Dumlao confirmed the filing of the graft complaint against the respondents over the TUPAD program. She said the scheme involved the TUPAD beneficiaries getting paid only P1,000 without doing any work and returning the remaining P6,000 to the “coordinators.” The NBI said the respondents caused injury to the government because the funds were paid to the beneficiaries who were not qualified for DOLE’s emergency employment program for workers displaced by the pandemic.
