LOCAL Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday said the Philippine National Police (PNP) returned P500 million of its P1.3-billion intelligence fund for 2025 to the Office of the President after finding that the amount, allegedly inserted by former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, was unnecessary. Remulla told lawmakers that the P500-million insertion was not part of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and had no identified purpose in the PNP’s operational plans. “We returned it because it was an insertion in the budget — and the insertion came from the person who requested 3,000 containers of fish,” Remulla said, referring to Co’s earlier involvement in a fish importation request flagged by the Department of Agriculture. He clarified that the PNP only used funds authorized under the General Appropriations Act. “We only followed what was in the NEP, not the insertion. We found no use for it and returned it to the Office of the President,” he added. For 2026, the PNP will operate on an P806-million intelligence fund, down from P1.3 billion in 2025. Despite the reduction, police officials said the amount would still be sufficient to support intelligence and counterintelligence activities. “The request of the PNP was actually P2.1 billion, but only P806 million was granted,” a PNP representative said, noting that intelligence operations remain vital but must be sustained within the limits of available resources. The official added that the current allocation amounts to about P150 per police personnel each month, underscoring the need for a more balanced distribution between personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and capital outlay. “Eighty-four percent of our budget goes to personnel services, 14 percent to MOOE and 2 to 3 percent to capital outlay. Ideally, we would want our MOOE to reach at least 20 percent,” the official said. Lawmakers earlier supported strengthening the PNP’s intelligence network but raised concerns over the adequacy of its funding and the return of unused allocations.