Lawmakers balk at P31m fund for Red splinter group

Lawmakers have warned the Aquino administration of demoralization among the police and the military following its decision to allot P31 million for the housing and livelihood of the families of surrendered members of the Alex Boncayao Brigade, the group responsible for killing about 200 policemen in the 1990’s.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong said the government committed another blunder when it allocated the amount without authorization from Congress.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles has defended the government’s move to earmark funds for the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade.

Deles has said the P31-million fund is part of President Benigno Aquino III’s campaign under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or Pamana program aimed at putting closure to all armed conflicts.

But Datumanong said “no public fund can be used except upon authorization of Congress.” He said he found it in bad taste that the government had provided funding to those who were once enemies of the state.

“Unless these people are already with the government, giving them funds or material help is not proper and legal,” Datumanong told the Manila Standard.

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat, an administration ally, sees nothing wrong with the funding, saying “it’s all part of the peace process.”

“This is the same fund being used for the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army surrenderees who battled and perhaps killed some government forces in the ‘80s in Cordillera,” Baguilat, chairman of the House committee on cultural communities, told the Manila Standard.

Still, Baguilat said the money was “a heavy price to pay to the enemies who killed Filipino soldiers and policemen.”

“It’s a heavy, sometimes unpalatable price to pay,” Baguilat said.

Magsaysay said the timing of the government’s decision was very bad since the issue in Mindanao with the MILF was still fresh.

“Military officers as well as policemen were part of the casualties in the clash there involving another group that the government is working to achieve peace with,” she said.

“The families of the casualties also need help, so what is the government doing for them?”

“This decision sends a wrong message to the police and military, especially at this time because it would seem that the leadership is prioritizing the welfare of those who are opposing or have opposed the government rather than those who are protecting it.” –Maricel Cruz, Manila Standard Today