SENATE minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III yesterday said he would move to remove the P500 million in confidential funds included in the proposed 2023 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Pimentel, during the Senate’s Monday floor deliberations on the proposed national budget of the Marcos administration for next year, said the OVP can “let go” of its confidential funds and allot them for other government projects which badly need funding based on the budget message of President Marcos Jr.
Pimentel said the mandate of the vice president does not justify the need for confidential funds as the 1987 Constitution clearly states that the vice president’s primary function is to replace the president once he or she is not able to perform his or her duty anymore.
On the other hand, confidential funds are defined as expenses incurred for surveillance operations intended to support the mandate of an agency and the OVP does not qualify under the definition for the use of such funds.
“In my personal opinion, such a mandate does not justify giving confidential funds,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) amounting to more than P9 billion included in the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 can be used for other worthwhile government projects, like supplemental feeding programs which need P400 million, purchase of Bureau of Fire Protection fire trucks, construction of children’s hospitals for P468 million, stud farm for the Philippine Racing Commission worth P50 million, funding for the National Anti-Poverty Commission of P50 million, for the Commission on Human Rights in the amount of P5 million, support for the Veterans Hospital, construction of a new building of the National Bureau of Investigation, scholarship grants for deserving students, and P500 million for the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost), among others.
Pimentel said he will move for the deletion of the CIFs when the Senate conducts the period of amendments on the budget bill.
OVP BUDGET
Pimentel noted that the initial budget requested by the OVP for 2023 was only pegged at around P709 million but ballooned to P2.3 billion, which he said increased three times under the present “occupant” of the OVP.
During the OVP budget briefing for the Senate finance committee last month, Vice President Sara Duterte said she will let lawmakers decide to retain, decrease, or delete her office’s P500 million confidential funds.
Pimentel said there was no change in the OVP’s proposed budget of P2.3 billion in the Senate committee report, which means that senators did not bother to touch it.
Senate committee on finance chairperson Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, who defended the OVP budget, said while the OVP’s mandate is just to serve as a replacement for the president, the present OVP is active in extending services to the people which the national government cannot fully deliver.
Angara said this is also the same reason why the OVP’s requested budget increased by at least three times — from P709 million to P2.3 billion.
He added that it is only fitting for the OVP to receive such an amount to carry out its programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) since Duterte needs all the support she can get from the government as she got more than 32 million votes in the last elections.
Pimentel said deleting the P500 million confidential funds from the OVP’s P2.3 billion proposed budget would still leave P1.8 billion for the office which it can use for its PAPs.
“Do we say that we are not supportive? Eh P1.8 billion pa rin ang budget (The budget would still be P1.8 billion),” Pimentel said.
He asked if there are rules which set the limit for the budget being asked by an agency so it will not ask for high allocations.
Angara replied: “I am not aware, but this is not an arbitrary amount, but the amount, if you look at the trend since 2004, halos nadadagdagan ang budget ng OVP (the OVP budget is increasing).”
Pimentel said the PAPs lined up under the OVP for next year — burial and medical assistance, free rides, setting up of disaster operations centers, establishing seven satellite offices nationwide, livelihood assistance, and construction of a OVP permanent office, among others — can be considered replication of PAPs of the national government, and as such is just a waste of money and resources.
Angara disagreed and said it is part of the OVP mandate to deliver services and the office’s PAPs is not a replication of the national government’s programs but rather to “supplement” them.
“Like here in the Senate, we have the Public Assistance Center na nilalapitan ng mga tao. I could imagine na ganoon din sa OVP, mas madami ang lumalapit sa kanila, mas malaki ang hinihingi sa kanila ng tao kaysa sa Senate (Like here in the Senate, we have the Public Assistance Center which people approach for help. I could imagine that the OVP is also like that, but more people troop there and ask for more assistance compared to the Senate),” Angara said.
He also said that the OVP is setting up seven satellite offices in key parts of the country to make its presence more felt by the people thus, aid will be institutionalized.
Angara said each satellite office will have a P150 million budget.
Pimentel said: “So, more than a billion of the P2.3 billion will go to satellite offices? The bottom line is that the three times increase is because of the OVP’s PAPs… So, we will be testing the OVP’s budget usage in the next budget cycle but I will still maintain na since tayo naman ang gumawa ng (we made the) definition ng (of) confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs), the OVP is not entitled or should not be given (confidential) funds. That is my position.”
After almost an hour of questioning from Pimentel, Senate majority leader Joel Villanueva moved for the approval of the OVP budget. No senator objected.
After the OVP budget, the Senate deliberated on the proposed P676 billion budget for the Department of Education, which is concurrently headed by the Vice President.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said she will move to realign the P150 million confidential funds being requested by the DepEd to other government projects needing funds.
DEPED BUDGET
Hontiveros asked if the P150 million confidential funds requested by the DepEd had been realigned in part or in whole to other agency programs, activities, and projects.
“Madam chair, may na-realign po ba ang DepEd na from their requested confidential funds, to either of these programs, whether SPED or IP education?” Hontiveros said, to which Sen. Pia Cayetano replied there have been realignments “but not from the confidential funds.” Cayetano defended the DepEd budget.
“But this is done, this is in our Senate version. For the record for our colleague, karamihan sa realignment, if not all, came from the flexible learning because at the time when we passed that budget for 2022, we had to prepare for the pandemic continuing as it was then. But with more people vaccinated, with protocols, actually wala nang protocols, but with the world moving on, we were able to reallocate the funds from the flexible learning. Again, upon the initiative of DepEd,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano added: “And Mr. President, may I respond to your concern on IP education? There has also been an alignment from flexible learning, so the total now is P154.31 million.”
Hontiveros, however, said realigning portions of the department’s confidential funds would be better as these can fund other department programs.
Pimentel also questioned the big increase in the DepEd’s budget for “subscriptions,” from P26.6 million in 2022 to P2.56 billion in 2023.
Pimentel said he noticed the sharp increase being asked for subscriptions since records show DepEd had a P17 million budget for it in 2021 during the height of the pandemic.
“Naka-discover pala tayo to lower the subscription expenses during the pandemic but now it has increased to P2.56 billion? (We have discovered ways on how to lower the subscription expenses during the pandemic but now it has increased to P2.56 billion?)” Pimentel said.
Cayetano said the said amount for subscriptions were formerly included in the department’s capital outlay allocation but has been entered now as a separate item as proposed by the Department of Budget and Management.
“That amount used to be in the capital outlay, but now it is a specific item so it’s not a new expense, it is an existing budget under the capital outlay. Nailipat lang pala (It has just been moved),” Cayetano said.
Pimentel also sought for a clarification as to why the Early Childhood Care and Development Board, which is under the DepEd, is reflected in the department’s budget for building “infrastructures.”
“Early Childhood Care needs a budget, they are into infrastructure. Ganoon ba ‘yun? (Is it true?),” he asked.
Cayetano said the agency has been supporting the (construction of) national child development centers where all daycare teachers would be trained.
“So, it is very important. Yung utilization nila ay mababa because their practice is to give the funds to the local government units (Its utilization is low because the practice is to give the funds to the local government units (which then builds the centers),” Cayetano said.
