Recto urges closer scrutiny of proposed P900-M 'Tokhang II' budget

Senator Ralph Recto on Sunday urged a closer review of the Philippine National Police's request for P900 million to fund Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded.

"Before such campaign is reloaded with funds, questions as to how it will be implemented must first be asked by the institution which will approve that request – Congress," Recto said in a statement.

Following the deadly police raids in Metro Manila and Bulacan province last week, which resulted in the killing of more than 80 people, the senator said Congress "should not write a blank check" to the PNP.

He said budget hearings for the PNP's requested funds for 2018 can used as a forum to probe deeper into the latest police drug raid killings and the death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos in Caloocan City last Wednesday.

Police said Delos Santos resisted arrest and shot policemen using a .45 pistol as he was escaping.

A CCTV camera footage that shows policemen in plain clothes dragging a man, however, has surfaced. Delos Santos' family said the person in the footage was the teenager.

"Kian's life was ended so dastardly that it has united the nation in anger and grief. This national pain can only be salved by the truth," Recto said.

He added: "In the House and in the Senate, the budget hearings will provide an opportunity for oversight, which could answer a very critical question : What are the sources of funds for this nationwide operation?"

Senator Panfilo Lacson said in a radio dzBB interview earlier that there is a growing consensus among majority senators that the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, which he chairs, should conduct an inquiry into the latest police "killing spree" and that killing of Delos Santos.

P20-B budget increase

Recto said the PNP is asking for an total of P20-billion increase in its 2018 budget, from P111.8 billion for 2017 to P131.5 billion next year.

"Para saan ba ang budget na ito? Ano ang mga targets na kakamtin?" the senator said.

He also said that the PNP's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) is also asking for a P731-billion budget for its payroll.

"Mabuti ring tanungin ang IAS kung paano nila gagastahin ang pondong ito para sa madisiplina ang mga tiwaling pulis," he said.

The PNP has also formed the Counter-Intelligence Task Force, which targets rogue policemen. It had arrested dozens of policemen suspected of extorting money from arrested drug suspects.

The IAS has started a probe into Delos Santos' killing. The National Bureau of Investigation has also been ordered by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to conduct a parallel probe.

Recto also said Congress should also consider revising a provision in the PNP's proposed budget that refers to the payment for damages to private property and injury and death of civilian resulting from police operations, using the police force's operational funds.

"Baka pwede na ang ganoong tulong ay agarang  maibigay ng PNP, na hindi na maghihintay  pa ng utos ng korte, na maaaring tumagal ng  taon o dekada," he said. —ALG, GMA News