Ex-PNP comptroller denies irregularities

A former police comptroller who is now a congressman denied Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s claim that there is a P40-million fund — or “commander’s reserve" — given to Philippine National Police (PNP) chiefs for their exclusive disposal. “Nagkaroon yata ng misunderstanding sa statement ni Senator Lacson. Hindi iyon commander’s reserve kundi command reserve. Halimbawa, kapag bumagyo at may mga nasira, doon kami kumukuha ng pampagawa," Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop told GMA News in a phone interview Wednesday night. (I think Lacson’s statement was misunderstood. That’s not commander’s reserve but command reserve. That’s where we get funds when, for example, we need to fix structures damaged by typhoon.) He said the command reserve is used as a contingency fund for the PNP’s “unprogrammed activities." He added that the said contingency fund, which actually amounted to P44 million, was not for personal use, and goes back to the national treasury if not spent. “The savings are captured by the DBM [Department of Budget and Management]. Bumabalik sa (It goes back to the) national treasury," said Acop, who was PNP comptroller when Lacson was PNP chief from 1999 to 2001.
Earlier in the day, Lacson, who is still in hiding in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, bared supposed anomalies in the PNP. Lacson said he was given P40 million reserved funds when he was PNP chief for his exclusive disposal and other “perks" such as a credit card with a high credit limit and monthly gas allowance that exceeded his consumption. He said he never availed of any of these supposed privileges. Acop said that he is not aware of the credit card privilege, although he confirmed that Lacson ordered him to download the excess gas allowance to frontline units. “Pina-download niya ‘yan talaga kasi iilan lang naman sasakyan niya (He wanted it downloaded to the frontlines because he said he doesn’t own that many vehicles)," he said. - KBK, GMA News