Marcos admin wants P9.2 billion in confidential, intel funds for 2024

MANILA, Philippines – The executive branch is seeking P9.2 billion in confidential and intelligence funds across all government agencies for 2024, a bulk of which would go to the offices of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte if approved.

“For 2024, the confidential fund is P4.3 billion, and the intelligence fund is P4.9 billion. The amount is the same as 2023 levels,” Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said on Wednesday, August 2, during the turnover of the proposed 2024 spending plan worth P5.768 trillion to the House of Representatives.

In 2022, the present administration also sought confidential and intelligence funds worth P9.2 billion for the current year.

The Office of the President (OP) would get nearly half of it based on the proposal, at P4.56 billion (P2.25 billion in confidential funds and P2.3 billion in intelligence funds).

Duterte’s Office of the Vice President requested P500 million, and her Department of Education sought P150 million.

The Department of Agriculture – also led by Marcos – wants P50 million in confidential funds for 2024. The agency does not have confidential funds for the current year.

Last year, opposition lawmakers fought tooth and nail to remove the DepEd’s confidential funds for 2023, but the budget was eventually restored in the bicameral conference committee.

A 2015 joint circular released by five government agencies defines confidential expenses as those pertaining to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies, while intelligence expenses are those related to intel information-gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel that have direct impact on national security.

Confidential and intelligence funds are much more difficult to audit, because they are exempted from standard procedures of the Commission on Audit.

Before Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Duterte became president, confidential and intelligence fund allocations under the OP did not exceed P1 billion.

The House of Representatives will scrutinize the executive department’s budget for the next months, and is targeting to pass it before the chamber goes on a break in October. – Rappler.com