Commodore Jay Tarriela, Spokesperson for WPS, Philippine Coast Guard. Photo by Arnel Tacson/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)’s intelligence funds amounting to P200 million will not only be used for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) response.
In an INQSide Look interview on Thursday, PCG spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said that the agency will also use the intelligence funds for their other functions.
“This is not just limited to the West Philippine Sea; there are other Coast Guard functions that we need to make use of in terms of maritime safety, environmental protection, and maritime law enforcement,” Tarriela said.
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Tarriela noted the substantial increase of PCG’s intelligence funds as the maritime agency only received P10 million in intel funds annually from the year 2013 until 2023.
“But now, we have substantially received [a] P200 million intelligence fund for the Philippine Coast Guard,” Tarriela said.
Lawmakers had pushed for the increase in the intelligence funds for the PCG, noting that the funds allotted for the uniformed service were meager for an agency that faces so much danger in protecting the country’s sovereign rights over the WPS.
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Last year, the matter of intelligence and confidential funds hogged the headlines after Vice President Sara Duterte asked for P650 million for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
However, other civilian agencies like OVP and DepEd were eventually stripped of their secret funds by the House of Representatives, which transferred it to PCG and other government entities “in charge of monitoring and protecting the country’s territorial rights” in the WPS.
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