A TOTAL of PHP1.23 billion meant for confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) of several key government agencies has been realigned in fresh bid to protect and secure the West Philippine Sea (WPS), following the rationalization of the lump sum allocations by a small committee tasked by the House of Representatives to finalize the administration’s 2024 spending package.
Of this amount, P1.05 billion came from the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Education, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Agriculture—whose requests for CIFs have all been reduced to zero.
The remaining P187 million came from six government agencies whose confidential funds have been cut down.
The confidential funds of the Bureau of Customs and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity have been reverted to Fiscal Year 2023 levels, which now amount to P69.5 million and P54 million, respectively.
The Department of Justice’s Office of the Secretary (P168 million), the Office of the Solicitor General (P10 million) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (P7.5 million) also faced a slash in confidential budget expenses.
The confidential fund of the Office of the Ombudsman has been reduced to P1 million as per request of the agency, while the remainder of the proposed budget it originally sought has been realigned for its Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses or MOOE.
Under the rationalized CIFs, the new budget allocations for the protection of the WPS are as follows:
• P100 million intelligence fund for the Philippine Coast Guard;
• P100 million for the acquisition of ammunition of the Philippine Coast Guard;
• P300 million for the National Intelligence Coordinating Council;
• P100 million for the National Security Council; and
• P351 million for the Airport Development Program on Pag-asa Island.
The rest of the realigned funds are for the Department of Education’s Government Assistance to Students and Teachers (GATSPE) Program, PHP150 million; DICT’s Cybercrime Prevention, Investigation and Coordination Program, P25 million; DFA operations, P30 million; BFAR’s MOOE, P30 million; and Office of the Ombudsman’s MOOE, P50.4 million.
The rationalization of confidential funds was based primarily on whether the agency’s mandate could still be performed in the absence of such funds. For those agencies that do require surveillance activities to enforce laws, the committee found it prudent to further reduce budget amounts to 2023 levels or lower depending on their compliance with the reportorial requirements.
