By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian posed on Tuesday a perfect question that should have been asked a long time ago: How are the country’s intelligence agencies spending their hefty funds?
Gatchalian tees off by citing the appalling inability of various agencies to perform the basic task of tracking down wanted fugitives like dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, who slipped out of the country undetected.
To think that she moved from place to place before reaching the port and still got past a law enforcement dragnet is just a disappointment and, honestly, a waste of money on intel.
It’s well within our rights as taxpayers to be curious. Guo is no regular fugitive. She must be on the top wanted list of senators, congressmen, the Justice Department, and the President himself.
Yet, the millions the government allocates for intelligence funds prove little to show for. How else could we expect good returns on our intelligence allocations if we can’t even locate the likes of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, and former Bilibid chief Gerald Bantag?
Heck, what could we expect from these intel agents if even a guy wanted for a bouncing checks case like Xian Gaza can slip through their hands, jetty off to Hong Kong undetected, and be so wildly present on social media?
Our intel agents must be ashamed. Gaza, better known as “Pambansang Marites,” must be 10 times better than them at intelligence gathering, if not Ogie Diaz.
Sara’s intel funds
And that’s where the problem lies — not having the proper oversight on how intel funds are spent. Take for example the case of Vice President Sara Duterte when she was still DepEd Chief.
During her tenure, the Department of Education received a whopping P150 million in confidential funds, supposedly for surveillance on issues like recruitment by communists and terrorist groups on campuses.
However, when questioned, DepEd’s finance office admitted they had no clue how the funds were used. This isn’t just negligence; it’s an affront to taxpayers. How can a government agency be trusted with such significant resources without any accountability?
The lack of transparency is glaring, and it’s not an isolated case. Whether it’s DepEd or intelligence agencies, the pattern is clear: massive budgets are handed out with little to no scrutiny, and the public is left in the dark. If no one is watching how these funds are utilized, it’s no wonder we’re seeing intelligence failures.
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