Government should direct a major portion of its P833 million intelligence fund allocation this year in finding Abu Sayyaf “leaders and lairs” and in stopping their recruitment efforts and expansion of areas of operation.

In addition to this intelligence kitty, there is a P702 million allocation for “confidential expenses” in this year’s national budget, which, according to Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, can also be tapped in monitoring the terrorist group’s activities.

In all, there’s a P1.5 billion budget to fund intelligence-gathering activities against the notorious group’s “status and intentions,” Recto, a reelectionist, said.

Almost all of this year’s intelligence fund, he explained, is shared among three major recipients: The Department of National Defense (DND)–P246 million; the Philippine National Police (PNP)–P306 million; and the Office of the President (OP)–P250 million.

The DND’s allocation is in turn distributed among the major armed services, while that of the OP can be used to fund intelligence-gathering projects on national security threats.

“In the arsenal of weapons against terror, the intelligence fund is very important. It can also be lethal,” said Recto, a shared candidate of the Liberal Party, Partido Galing at Puso, and the Miriam-Marcos ticket.

Recto said the Abu Sayyaf, due to its recent beheading of a Canadian citizen it had kidnapped for ransom, “is clearly a national security threat”, not only because of the barbarity of its crimes, “but also because of their potential to bring their war to urban areas.”

“They are the most violent criminal syndicate in the country today. Their barbarity actually lands them among Asia’s most brutal. We have a regional obligation to stamp them out and wipe clean this blot on our national image,” Recto said.

Recto said the next president should hit the ground running after this notorious group “and the present one must see to it that it is a degraded force before he steps down on June 30.”

He said if the President Aquino’s successor would be drawing up a list of criminals who must be neutralized, then without doubt Abu Sayyaf occupies the number one spot, Recto said.

“Hindi na n’ya kailangang maghanap pa ng sindikatong sasampolan. Matagal nang nagpiprisinta ang mga Abu Sadong ito. Wiping out Abu Sayyaf is the Artikulo Uno of the next president’s urgent things to do,” he said.

Recto pointed out that Abu Sayyaf’s victims “are not just counted by the number of body bags, which are already in the hundreds since it began its bloody business a quarter-of-a-century ago.”

“What must be tallied too are losses they have inflicted on our economy. Lands are idled by farmers too afraid to till, vacation plans are cancelled by tourists who are discouraged by bad publicity, investments are aborted,” Recto said.