SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday said senators will not spare from scrutiny the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of the Office of the President (OP) to determine if it still needs the controversial secret funds.
Hontiveros said senators will seek an accounting of how the OP spent its CIF for this year but assured that they will not violate the confidential nature of secret fund disbursements.
The OP is requesting for a P4.5 billion CIF in the government’s spending program for next year.
“Puwede naming tignan ‘yun kahit nasa sealed envelope siya. At sa ilalim ng aming Senate oversight committee ay puede rin kaming humingi kay SP (Senate president) na mapag-aralan namin iyon. So, tama lang na dapat lahat ng civilian agencies, maging ang OP ay pag-aralan namin kung dapat ba mayroon at magkano dapat (We can also look into it even if it is contained in a sealed envelope. And under our Senate oversight committee, we can ask the Senate president for a copy [of the report] so we can study it. So, it is just right that (CIFs) of all civilian agencies, even the OP, be looked into to determine which among them need CIFs and how much),” Hontiveros told radio dzBB.
The OP, she noted, is one of the 28 civilian agencies which has requested for the allocation of confidential and intelligence funds.
Hontiveros said that like other agencies either with confidential or intelligence expenses, the OP has the obligation to report to the Senate president, House speaker, and Commission on Audit how the funds were used.
Hontiveros stressed there is a need to study the OP’s secret funds following its transfer of P125 million in confidential funds to the Office of the Vice President in December 2022, or just six months after President Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency.
Vice President Sara Duterte has earlier admitted that she requested the OP for more than P220 million confidential funds in August 2022 but the Department of Budget and Management released the amount on December 2022.
Records show that only P125 million has been liquidated by the OVP.
Hontiveros said the CIFs became controversial during this budget season because more civilian government agencies requested for the funding even if they are not directly involved in intelligence gathering.
She said 28 civilian agencies requested for confidential funds for next year, compared to 22 agencies this year.
She added the precaution is necessary since confidential funds are not subject to strict COA auditing, hence may be subject to abuse.
When asked if the OVP and Department of Education, both under Duterte, should just do away with their P500 million and P150 million confidential funds, respectively, Hontiveros said Duterte should stand up to her statement that she can “live without confidential funds” and that she is just leaving it to the discretion of Congress whether to grant them to her offices or not.
She also said that the decision of the House of Representatives to transfer the confidential funds of civilian agencies to “defenders” of the West Philippine Sea is a very welcome move and expressed hope that the Senate will follow suit.
“Umaasa ako ngayong taon, at nabanggit din po ito ni SP na pati confi funds ng OVP at amin pong mare-realign doon sa mga ahensiya na talagang may national defense at public safety mandates at expertise. At dahil nga sa balita mula sa House, magkakaron ng pagkakaisa sa amin sa Senado at lalabas at lalabas yan sa bicam version at sa final GAA o national budget para sa 2024 (I am hoping that this year, and SP [Senate president Zubiri] has mentioned, that even the confidential funds of the OVP will be realigned to agencies whose expertise and mandates involve national defense and public safety. And because of the House’s decision, we will be united in the Senate and it will be reflected in the bicam version and in the final GAA [General Appropriations Act] or the national budget for 2024),” she said.
