Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2997

HOUSE BILL NO.
Authored by HON. JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Transparency and accountability are the foundations of a
genuine democracy. All branches of government must be able to
account for their actions and for their use of public funds to the people
whom they serve. None should be spared from the scrutiny of the
public.

Understandably, because of its nature, intelligence activities
must be kept confidential for valid national security concerns.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that they should not be subject to
checks and balances that are at the core of our democratic
government. A balance must be struck to maintain confidentiality but
at the same time uphold accountability.

It is necessary to monitor the compliance of intelligence
activities with existing laws and with the Philippine Constitution.
Moreover, intelligence agencies must be made responsible for these
activities and held liable for their actions. Furthermore, there is a need
to ensure that intelligence agencies are protecting, rather than
undermining, civil liberties and that they are properly used to prepare
for the threats to national security, rather than for partisan activities of
any government official.

Also, certain government agencies receive an annual
appropriation for intelligence and confidential activities amounting to
millions of pesos. Because of the necessary secrecy in the use of
intelligence and confidential funds, these amounts appear as lump
sums in the annual General Appropriations Act and are not subject to
the stringent regular auditing requirements of the Commission on
Audit. Through the years, this secrecy that surrounds the
disbursement and utilization of intelligence and confidential funds has
been used not only to protect intelligence activities but also to hide
abuses in the utilization of these funds,

Because it is essential, for valid national security concerns, that
most intelligence activities remain secret, Congress, as the elected
representatives of the Filipino people, must ensure that the
intelligence agencies are held accountable for their actions.


Thus, for the purpose of upholding accountability in the conduct
of intelligence activities while at the same time maintaining the
necessary confidentiality, this bill calls for the creation of a Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee tasked to monitor and oversee
intelligence activities, which include the administration, financial
management, and expenditures, of the intelligence agencies.

In addition, the bill compels all entities of the Philippine
government that conduct intelligence activities and receive intelligence
funds to keep the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee fully
informed of all intelligence activities, including any significant
anticipated intelligence activity and any significant intelligence failure,
as soon as possible.

Furthermore, the bill requires that entities of the Philippine
government first obtain a signed letter from the President, or from the
respective head of the constitutional body in cases involving entities
enjoying fiscal autonomy, specifically authorizing the proposed
intelligence activity before any amount is disbursed and expended for
the proposed intelligence activity. The President or the respective head
of the constitutional body shall ensure that the Joint Congressional
Intelligence Committee receives a copy of this authorization letter
within seventy-two (72) hours.

Also, the bill mandates the President to submit to the Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee an annual report on the past
activities and the future requirements of the Philippines for
intelligence. The report shall specify matters in sufficient detail to
assist Congress in making decisions with respect to the allocation of
resources for the matters specified.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate enactment of this
measure is earnestly sought.

=a

JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 2997

Authored by HON. JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO

AN ACT
ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY IN INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES AND IN THE
USE OF INTELLIGENCE AND CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS GRANTED TO ALL
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE A JOINT
CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE TO STRENGTHEN THE
OVERSIGHT POWERS OF CONGRESS TO MONITOR INTELLIGENCE
ACTIVITIES OF ALL AGENCIES OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT AND
TO OVERSEE HOW INTELLIGENCE AND CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS ARE
EXPENDED, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in
Congress assembled

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the ‘Intelligence
Oversight Act of 2010.”

SEC. 2. Definition of Terms.

(a) Intelligence activities pertain to activities related to the
Process of gathering, evaluation, correlation and interpretation of
security information, as performed by intelligence agencies of the
Philippine government.

(b) Intelligence agencies include the Office of the National
Security Adviser, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the
intelligence units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the
Philippine National Police, and all departments, agencies, and other
entities of the Philippine government, which receive intelligence and
confidential funds from the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 3. Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee. - A
Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee is hereby established,
which shall, subject to the Constitution, perform the oversight
functions set out in this act in relation to the intelligence activities,
which include the administration, financial management, and
expenditures, of the intelligence agencies. The Committee shall be
composed of five (5) members each from the Senate and the House of
Representatives, which shall meet quarterly, or as often as necessary,
to oversee the intelligence activities of the Philippine government. The


Committee shall be jointly chaired by the Chairperson of the Senate
Committee on National Defense and Security and the House
Committee on National Defense and Security. The other four (4)
members of the Senate delegation are the Chairpersons of the
Committee on Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, the Committee on
Justice and Human Rights, the Committee on Public Order and Illegal
Drugs, and the Committee on Finance. The other four (4) members of
the House Delegation are the Chairpersons of the Committee on
Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, the Committee on Human Rights, the
Committee on Public Order and Safety, and the Committee on
Appropriations. The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and the minority leaders of both Houses shall
serve as ex-officio members of the Joint Congressional Intelligence
Committee.

SEC. 4. General Provisions on Congressional Intelligence
Oversight.

(a) The President shall ensure that the Joint Congressional
Intelligence Committee are kept fully informed of the intelligence
activities of the Philippines, including any significant anticipated
intelligence activity, as won as possible. Provided, however, that this
shall not be construed as requiring the approval of the Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee as a condition precedent to the
initiation of any significant anticipated intelligence activity.

(b) The President shall ensure that any illegal intelligence
activity is reported promptly to the Joint Congressional Intelligence
Committee, as well as any corrective action that has been taken or is
planned to be taken in connection with such illegal activity.

(c) If the President determines that it is essential to limit access
to information regarding any intelligence activity to meet extraordinary
circumstances affecting vital interests of the Philippines, the
information may be reported to the chairpersons of the Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee, the President of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the minority leaders of
both Houses, and such other member or members of the Congress as
may be included by the President. When access to information is
limited as such, a statement of the reasons for limiting such access
shall also be provided in writing to the Joint Congressional Intelligence
Committee.

(d) Nothing in this act shall be construed as authority to withhold
information from the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee on
the grounds that providing the information would constitute the
unauthorized disclosure of classified information or information relating
to intelligence sources and methods.

SEC. 5. Protecting the Confidentiality of Intelligence
Activities and other Classified Information. - The Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee shall establish procedures,
subject to the approval of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, to-


(a) protect from unauthorized disclosure all classified
information, and all
information relating to intelligence sources and methods, that is
furnished to the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee under this
act; and

(b) penalize members that violate the confidentiality of the
Committee’s proceedings.

Only upon the approval of these procedures, by both the Senate
and the House of Representatives through a joint resolution, can the
Committee perform its oversight functions.

SEC. 6. Reporting of Intelligence Activities. - To the extent
consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized
disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence
sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters, the
National Security Adviser, the Director of the National Intelligence
Coordinating Agency, and the heads of all departments, agencies, and
other entities of the Philippine government who receive intelligence
and confidential funds from the annual General Appropriations Act
shall -

(a) keep the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee fully
informed of all intelligence activities, including any significant
anticipated intelligence activity and any significant intelligence failure,
as soon as possible; and

(b) furnish the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee any
information or material concerning intelligence activities, which is
requested by the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee in order
to carry out its authorized responsibilities.

SEC. 7. Finding of the Joint Congressional Intelligence
Committee. - In accordance with the procedures adopted by the Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee, the Chairperson of both Houses
shall promptly call to the attention of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, or to any appropriate committee or committees of
each chamber, any matter relating to intelligence activities requiring
the attention of such chamber or such committee or committees.

SEC. 8. Funding of Intelligence Activities.

(a) Appropriated intelligence and confidential funds available to
any agency of the Philippine government may be obligated or
expended for intelligence or intelligence-related activities only if those
funds were specifically authorized by the Congress for use for such
activities as stated in the annual General Appropriations Act.

(b) No funds appropriated for, or otherwise available to, any
department, agency, or entity of the Philippine Government may be
expended, or may be directed to be expended, for any intelligence


activity, unless and until a signed authorization letter from the
President is obtained. For constitutional bodies which enjoy fiscal
autonomy, the authorization letter must be signed by their respective
head. The President, or the respective head of the constitutional body,
shall ensure that the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee
receives a copy of this authorization letter within seventy-two (72)
hours.

SEC. 9. Annual Report on Intelligence Activities. - Not later
than January 31 of each year, the President shall submit to the Joint
Congressional Intelligence Committee a report on the requirements of
the Philippines for intelligence for the calendar year in which the report
is submitted, and the activities of the intelligence agencies during the
preceding calendar year. The purpose of the report is to facilitate an
assessment of the activities of the intelligence agencies during the
preceding calendar year and to assist in the development of a mission
and a budget for the intelligence agencies for the calendar year in
which the report is submitted. The report shall specify matters in
sufficient detail to assist Congress in making decisions with respect to
the allocation of resources for the matters specified. The report shall
also include a financial statement covering all the funds expended by
any department, agency, or entity of the Philippine Government for
intelligence or intelligence-related activities, as well as a detailed
account of the use of these funds. The report shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 10. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section
or provision of this Act shall he held unconstitutional or invalid, the
other section or provision not otherwise affected shall remain in full
force and effect.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees,
executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations which are
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)

days from its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,