MANILA, Philippines — The proposal to double the funds available to the government's anti-insurgency task force could easily be used by politicians for election purposes later on in the 2022 polls, a senator warned Tuesday. “Let's not mince words: It’s an election giveaway,” the opposition senator said in a statement sent to reporters Tuesday afternoon. Drilon questioned the allocation, warning that "soft infra" projects can "easily be used for election purposes and could easily be stolen." The fact is, a good portion of this NTF-ELCAC funds is what we call soft programs such as training and livelihood and these are funds that are easy to manipulate in terms of beneficiaries," he said. Other senators in the higher chamber have since joined calls to defund the task force, which has been caught in a lie on more than one occasion.

Source: Philippine Star August 03, 2021 10:29 UTC