Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 11) — Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel dares President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to set an example and give up his confidential funds amounting to more than ₱2 billion.
This comes after a small committee at the House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously decided not to allot confidential funds to some civilian agencies in the 2024 budget bill and realign them instead to those focused on national security.
These are the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
READ: Zero confidential funds in 2024 budget for OVP, DepEd, DICT, DA, DFA
Speaking on CNN Philippines’ The Final Word on Tuesday, Manuel said almost half of the total amount of confidential and intelligence funds (48.9%) in the 2024 budget were allocated to the Office of the President (OP).
“Siya [Marcos] at ang kaniyang opisina ang may pinakamalaking allocation for confidential funds na lumalampas sa ₱2 billion,” the lawmaker said.
[Translation: Marcos and his office has the biggest allocation of confidential funds which exceeds ₱2 billion.]
Manuel added that the combined confidential and intelligence funds of Marcos’ office is at ₱4.56 billion, or equivalent to ₱12 million if spent per day.
Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said the funds should be realigned to address the pressing needs of society, particularly in basic social services such as education, healthcare, housing, and livelihood programs.
The quest continues
Manuel said the House committee’s move to scrap the confidential funds of some agencies mirrors the sentiments of the public.
He said the probe into the unreported ₱125 million confidential funds of the OVP will continue.
“Hindi natin titigilan, kasi lalo na’t debatable na nga ang confidential funds kahit na nasa general appropriations act. How much more ang 2022 confidential funds ng OVP na hindi talaga dumaan sa Congress?” he questioned.
[Translation: We will not stop, because confidential funds are already debatable even though they are included in the general appropriations act. How much more are the 2022 confidential funds of the OVP that did not actually go through Congress?]
Brosas also said their call to completely do away with confidential funds in all agencies and realign them to social services and programs still has “a long way to go.”
“We will continue to champion the interests of the Filipino people, ensuring that their voices are heard and their needs are addressed,” she said. “Hindi maaaring ang mga opisyales at malalaking negosyante ang nakikinabang sa pondo ng taumbayan.”
[Translation: We cannot allow officials and big businessmen to dip into the country’s coffers.]
