Palace to Senate: Hands off Noy’s pork
By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Angie M. Rosales 08/24/2010 Malacañang yesterday virtually told the Senate to back off from slashing President Aquino’s huge intelligence fund that comes up in yearly budgets at half a billion pesos, that is unaudited and non-accountable. Malacañang yesterday thumbed down the proposal of Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile to reduce, if not totally remove, the 2011 budget appropriation for the Office of the President’s (OP) intelligence funds, also known as his pork barrel. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said the President is not inclined to take Enrile’s suggestion because the status of these funds is currently under review by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to determine if such resources are being mishandled. He said it was premature for the Senate to railroad such proposal considering that a new administration has just been installed which is yet to find out the purpose for which these intelligence funds are created. “We are reviewing the current status of those funds because these were just inherited by the current administration. All of it is being reviewed and we are also studying how these will be utilized in response to Senator Enrile’s call,” Coloma said during a press briefing. The PCOO chief declined to give categorical statement when pressed to answer questions on whether Aquino can live without an intelligence fund in his office citing the history that comes with the creation of such item in the budget..... MORE Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100824hed1.html |
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