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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Tulfo wants DA's proposed P50M confi funds realigned to NBI, other law enforcement agencies

Tulfo wants DA's proposed P50M confi funds realigned to NBI, other law enforcement agencies

Published Nov 8, 2023 04:00 pm

Senator Raffy Tulfo on Monday, October 9 proposed that the P50-million worth of confidential fund allocated to the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the 2024 national budget be realigned to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies.


During the Senate Committee on Finance’s deliberation into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) budget for 2024, Tulfo recalled DA officials gave a vague response when asked what they intend to do with the budget during a separate hearing.


“They said the funds were intended to go after smugglers, but we told them we have the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the NBI, PNP,” Tulfo said during the hearing.


“So, I am proposing to cut the budget of the DA's confidential fund and transfer some to the NBI, PNP, Immigration,” he said.


“I don’t know but it’s in your discretion but I suggest, but in my opinion, the DA does not need confidential funds,” he told the panel headed by Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara.


Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla for his part agreed that the DOJ’s cybercrime division and the NBI’s cybercrime office are in dire need of fund augmentation.


According to Remulla, the DOJ cybercrime division is currently limited to only 20 people.


“If we are to follow the standard…we will need at least 200 people for this, because 90 percent of crimes nowadays have cybercrime content,” Remulla said.


“In fact, no physical bank robberies are happening, because it’s all happening through computers, on mobile phones,” he added.


“So an additional fund would really help improve the capabilities of the NBI and DOJ’s cybercrime offices,” the secretary added.


Sen. Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito backed Tulfo’s call as he also pushes for more funds to augment the DOJ’s capacity to investigate and prosecute cybercriminals.


Ejercito noted that under the proposed 2024 national budget, the DOJ's Office of Cybercrime was allocated a "meager" P475,000 in intelligence funds despite the prevalence of online scams, hacking and other internet-aided criminal activities. He also supported increasing the NBI's P175-million intelligence fund for next year.


“I guess, these are the agencies that we really have to put confidential and intelligence funds into, because this is a new enemy that we are facing right now," Ejercito said.


The DOJ has a proposed budget of P34.486 billion for next year. Aside from the NBI, other agencies under the DOJ include the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Parole and Probation Administration, Land Registration Authority, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), and the Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution.




Related Tags

Cybercrime jv ejercito National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Department of Justice (DOJ) Confidential funds Raffy Tulfo
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