Despite the billions of (intelligence) funds made available since 2001, these have not contributed to maintaining peace or even arresting the violence. Unless, of course, these funds were used to sponsor such violence, which we strongly believe is the case.
DAVAO CITY To Joel Virador, the Bayan Muna congressman who represents Mindanao, its an idea that makes perfect sense: if the states intelligence apparatuses cant stop criminals from killing political activists, journalists, lawyers, students and church people, why should the Filipino people allow them to continue enjoying their intelligence fund?
In fact, Virador thinks that it is very plausible that these government funds are being used by the Arroyo administration to fund operations of death squads to murder Bayan Muna members, leaders and supporters nationwide.
The solution would be to scrap these Confidential and Intelligence (COIN) Funds immediately, Virador said.
In a statement released this week, Virador pointed out that all confidential and intelligence expenditures are exempted from official audit and are hidden in various items of the national budget. So far, he said, Congress knows that Confidential and Intelligence Funds for 2006 is pegged P1,250,745,000.
It would be most appropriate, he added, to start with scrapping the P650 million intelligence fund embedded in the Office of the President budget for this year. We fear that this years allotment will again be used to conduct surveillance operations on progressive organizations and personages, ultimately resulting to their murders.
These monies should be used instead for direct social services such as education and health, the congressman from Davao City said.
According to Karapatan, the human-rights group, ,more than 600 activists have been killed since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed office in 2001.
The present trend of political killings is already a serious public security concern, Virador said. Malacaang and the military establishment cannot simply invoke national security to prevent the scrapping of the COIN funds.
Despite the billions of COIN funds made available since 2001, he added, these have not contributed to maintaining peace or even arresting the violence. Unless, of course, these funds were used to sponsor such violence, which we strongly believe is the case. (davaotoday.com)
