Nograles: P900M for PNP's Double Barrel Reloaded to remain intact

The P900-million proposed budget of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for "Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded" for 2018 will remain intact, House Appropriation Committee chair Karlo Nograles said on Sunday.

This, despite the condemnation of several lawmakers on the police force's budget, claiming that it is only used to fund the Duterte administration's bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

"Intact, intact," Nograles told radio dzBB in an interview when asked about the status of the PNP's budget.

Gabriela Women's Party Representative Arlene Brosas has earlier questioned the P900 million budget of the PNP for the campaign against illegal drugs, inquiring about its possible allocation for informants and ammunition specific for anti-drug operations.

“Why are we financing the extrajudicial killing of poor Filipinos who are presumed to be linked to illegal drugs?" Brosas said during the plenary consideration of the Department of the Interior and Local Government's budget last September 6.

"We cannot fund an institution that kills our people. And this chamber should never be an accomplice to this killing spree,” she added.

Nograles, however, said that is never a policy of the government to kill.

"Hindi naman natin polisiya na magkaroon ng ganong klaseng... 'yung allegedly ginagawa ng PNP, sabihin natin yong sa Caloocan police. Hindi naman 'yan state sanctioned," he said.

"Nakita ninyo dahil sa nangyari doon, ni-relieve ang buong Caloocan police force. So that just goes to show that it’s not state policy, not state sanctioned," he added.

Nograles said that as far as the House of Representatives is concerned, the alleged abuses of the police are being taken care of.

"Ang Congress, maraming oversight functions 'yan. Marami tayong committee. Public order and safety, may mga oversight tayo on public expenditures. So 'pag ang Congress, by itself, can already exercise its oversight functions against mga ganyang klaseng pang-aabuso," he said.

"But besides that, nandyan naman ang sistema ng checks and balance sa kapulisan dahil nandyan ang internal affairs, nandiyan ang NAPOLCOM (National Police Commission), nandiyan ang pleb, nandiyan ang Ombudsman," he added.

The House of Representatives is expected to consider on third and final reading House Bill 6215, or the General Appropriations Bill 2018, on Tuesday. —Erwin Colcol/ALG, GMA News