By Camille A. Aguinaldo
SENATOR Panfilo M. Lacson wants a Senate investigation into the alleged withholding of P59.8 million in allowances and hazard pay for the Philippine National Police’s elite Special Action Force (PNP SAF).
In filing Senate Resolution No. 712, the senator also sought remedial legislation “to correct the same and put a stop to this unlawful practice to the prejudice of the intended beneficiaries.”
Mr. Lacson filed the resolution on Tuesday, the same day former SAF chief and Police Director Benjamin Lusad was sacked from his current post as PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Southern Luzon. Mr. Lusad, along with other SAF officials, is also facing malversation and plunder charges at the Office of the Ombudsman due to the missing allowances.
“We cannot allow, yet again, another injustice to be committed against our heroes in uniform who are in the forefront of our fight against the ills of terrorism and criminality, lest we risk demoralization within their ranks. Thus the need to probe into the said allegations,” Mr. Lacson, a former PNP chief, said in his resolution.
Aside from the regular allowances given to the police force, members of the PNP SAF are given a daily additional subsistence allowance (ASA) worth P30 or P900 monthly and allocations for Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Hazardous Pay.
However, Mr. Lacson said records from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that the 4,000 SAF members only got their share of allowances for January 2016 and January to July 2017.
While Mr. Lusad admitted that the unreleased allowances were used for SAF’s operational expenses, fellowship, and training, Mr. Lacson pointed out that he has not yet shown proof of the liquidation.
Mr. Lacson added that the Senate needed to revisit existing laws to ensure police officers are given the benefits and erring parties concerned are punished.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR