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Philippines INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY AGENCIES
The period following the overthrow of the Marcos regime
brought important changes to the Philippines' intelligence and
security structure. During the martial law era (1972-81), the
volume and scope of government intelligence activity had greatly
expanded. The preeminent intelligence agency was the National
Intelligence and Security Authority, headed by General Fabian
Ver, a close Marcos confidant and chief of staff of the
Philippine armed forces. By the end of Marcos's tenure, the
National Intelligence and Security Authority and the rest of the
country's intelligence apparatus were heavily focused on tracking
the president's political opponents. Security agents were
suspected of numerous human rights abuses.
The revamp of the nation's intelligence system commenced with
Aquino's rise to power. The new government significantly
curtailed intelligence operations and purged many of General
Ver's operatives. Drafters of the 1987 constitution installed
legal safeguards against the kind of abuses committed by the
Marcos intelligence and security apparatus. The National
Intelligence and Security Authority, tainted by its close
association with the deposed president, was renamed the National
Intelligence Coordinating Agency and refocused its efforts away
from political opposition leaders to internal security threats,
especially the communist insurgency. Notable intelligence
successes against the communist rebels during the late 1980s were
an apparent result of this reorientation. Government operatives
repeatedly captured top CPP and NPA cadres, prompting devastating
purges within the insurgent ranks as guerrillas attempted to
ferret out the sources of intelligence penetrations.
In 1990 Aquino issued an executive order authorizing her
national security adviser to oversee the National Intelligence
Coordinating Agency and other elements of the intelligence
community. The adviser was empowered to audit the agencies and
was charged with ensuring that they were responsive to the needs
of the president and the National Security Council. The
secretaries of national defense and justice, whose departments
performed intelligence functions, were directed to work with the
national security adviser to fulfill the president's mandate.
The Department of Justice's principal intelligence-gathering
organ, the National Bureau of Investigation, was formed in 1936
as the Division of Investigation and patterned after the United
States Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bureau's principal
mission was to assist the Philippine Constabulary and police in
crime detection and investigation, freeing them to concentrate on
maintaining peace and order. Collection of intelligence on
internal security threats was considered a related function.
The Department of National Defense, meanwhile, maintained an
extensive intelligence apparatus. Although little was publicly
revealed about its organization or operation, it was known that
the military's principal intelligence organ was the Intelligence
Service of the AFP. Headed by a brigadier general, Intelligence
Service units operated throughout the country. Their mission in
1990 included not only pursuing insurgents, but also gathering
information on military coup plotters and participants. The
military services, too, maintained their own intelligence arms.
The regimental-size Intelligence and Security Group supported the
army while the Constabulary Security Group served Philippine
Constabulary leaders. The division of responsibilities among
these military intelligence agencies, as well as the
institutional mechanisms, if any, that were set up to coordinate
their activities, were unclear.
Data as of June 1991
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