Courtesy: House of Representatives
THE House Committee on Public Order and Safety chaired by Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano met on Wednesday to verify reports that personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are using funds allocated for scholarships for other purposes.
PNP Brig. Gen. Christopher dela Cruz, OIC Director of the Directorate for Plans, said that a certain amount of the fund is allotted to regional offices.
“Nilo-loan ng mga (PNP) personnel natin at a meager 3% to 5% interest po. I think the bulk of the provident fund is utilized doon,” he said.
Committee vice chair and Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, who together with Senator Panfilo Lacson, pushed for the creation of a provident fund to support the studies of PNP dependents, said that using the provident fund for loans was not contemplated when they pushed for its creation.
“Hindi po yan ung original or number one na purpose. The number one purpose of that provident fund is to provide scholarships to your members and their dependents,” he said.
Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said the use of the said fund for other purposes, even if said use benefits PNP personnel, is irregular.
“Even when the fund was utilized for public purpose, when the very or original purpose of the same was not properly realized, there’s a possibility that there is a basis for technical malversation,” she said.
National Police Commission (Napolcom) Vice Chairman and Executive Officer Rafael Vicente Calinisan committed to look into the matter, admitting that the committee’s discussion is the first time he is hearing about the reported re-purposing of the fund.
Acop earlier asked Calinisan if the provident fund supporting scholarships of PNP members and their dependents is insufficient.
Calinisan, who is a former PNP scholar himself, pointed out that the present scholarship fund is only available to dependents of police who were either killed or wounded in action.
“Scholarships po ng healthy policemen… yun po ang wala,” he said, requesting that funds for the schooling of dependents of healthy police be also made available. Calinisan reported that the Napolcom bridges this gap by reaching out to private institutions for assistance
