TEN of 16 cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) incurred a combined P728.28 million in confidential expenses in 2023, according to their individual financial statements submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA).
The six other cities in the region, including three of the country’s 10 wealthiest cities, reported zero confidential expenditures.
Based on data culled from 16 separate audit reports released by the COA simultaneously on December 13, 2024, the biggest confidential spending was reported by Makati City at P240 million, which is the same amount it spent in 2022.
Makati City is the second wealthiest city in the country, with total assets of P243.444 billion.
The city of Manila, the country’s capital and third richest, disclosed P120 million confidential expenses in 2022 and 2023. Its total assets stand at P89.92 billion as of yearend 2023.
Quezon City sits at third spot in confidential expenses with P100 million of the same two-year period. Quezon City is Metro Manila’s biggest in both land area and population, and the country’s wealthiest city with P448.51 billion in assets.
The other Metro Manila cities that declared spending for confidential activities were Pasay City, P80 million in 2022 and P60 million in 2023; Caloocan City, P60 million on both years; Parañaque City, P49.5 million on both years; Muntinlupa City, P44.29 in 2002 and P44.08 in 2023; Marikina City, P25 million on both years; San Juan City, P17.3 million in 2022 and P16 million in 2023; and Malabon City, P15 million in 2022 and P13.7 million in 2023.
Pasig, Taguig and Mandaluyong cities, occupying the fourth, fifth, and eight spot, respectively, in the wealthiest cities list last year, reported zero confidential expenses, together with the cities of Las Piñas, Navotas and Valenzuela.
Under Joint Circular No. 2015-01 issued by the COA, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of National Defense (DND), and the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), confidential spending of local government units must be directly related to their Peace and Order Programs (POPs).
The same circular provides that activities and programs eligible for confidential spending are limited to crime prevention and law enforcement activities; capability development for personnel of law enforcement agencies and volunteers; and programs related to illegal drugs, illegal gambling, counter insurgency, smuggling, human trafficking, and against illegal fishing and unlicensed mining and logging operations.
