FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte spent P2.25 billion confidential funds and P2.25 billion intelligence funds in 2021, his last full year in office.
The P4.5 billion total confidential and intelligence fund (CIF) spending of the Office of the President was P1.73 billion higher than the P2.769 billion combined CIF spending of the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the same period.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is under the DND while the PNP, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) are all under the DILG.
These figures were revealed in the 2021 Annual Financial Report (AFR) on National Government Agencies released by the Commission on Audit last October 7. The AFRs are released every year and may be accessed online at the COA’s official website.
Year on year, the national government’s CIF spending dropped from P9.443 billion in 2020 to P9.082 billion in 2021 or a decrease of P361.3 million.
Total confidential fund spending increased from P3.863 billion in 2020 to P3.99 billion in 2021.
In contrast, intelligence spending declined by P493.19 million from P5.58 billion in 2020 to P5.087 in 2021.
In the case of the Office of the President, its CIF tab went down from P4.636 billion in 2020 to P4.5 billion.
Among the offices under the Executive branch, the DND spent P1.860 billion for CIF (P1.838 billion intelligence; P22.25 million confidential); DILG incurred P908.45 million CIF (P848.45 million intelligence; P60 million confidential); and “other executive offices” posted P1.537.2 billion (P1.397 billion confidential and P140.2 million intelligence).
Also in the list under confidential fund spending were the Department of Justice (DOJ) P258.21 million; Department of Finance (DOF) P60.625 million; Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) P31.74 million; Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) P20.038 million; Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) P15 million; Office of the Ombudsman P13.04 million; Department of Transportation (DOTr) P6.85 million and P10 million for intelligence; Commission on Audit P10 million; Commission on Human Rights (CHR) P500,000 and P136,600 for intelligence; Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) P50,000.
The DICT spent P100 million in confidential expenses in 2020 while the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which spent P25 million confidential funds in 2020, had zero expenses in 2021.
