Office of the President’s ₱4-B CIF untouched by Senate – Pimentel

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 29) — “No one dared to touch” the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for next year, a senator said on Wednesday, confirming that the more than ₱4 billion requested by Marcos’ office remains intact in the Senate version of the 2024 budget.

“Of course no one dared to touch the CIF of the President,” Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel said in a message on Wednesday after the upper chamber passed the proposed ₱5.768-trillion national budget for next year.

Meanwhile, a special provision that contingent funds cannot be used to augment the CIF is in the approved bill, Pimentel said, citing information from Senator Risa Hontiveros.

Around ₱4.5 billion in CIF is allocated to the Office of the President under the proposed budget.

Critics have raised concerns about the increasing amounts of confidential funds for agencies, including those with no national security mandate or are not required to conduct surveillance activities.

The most controversial was the ₱650 million requested by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, both under Sara Duterte.

Duterte later withdrew her request, saying the pursuit of the spending item was divisive.