Secret funds of 30 agencies review
By Nidz Godino
"In our rules, it is stated that we can review use of all intelligence and confidential funds…we can check if funds were properly utilized, so that we can institute reforms in grant of confidential and intelligence funds," Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Senate vowed to scrutinize use of confidential and intelligence funds of close to 30 government agencies and realign allocation for better use to national defense and security, through its recently activated oversight committee on secret funds.
Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds, Programs and Activities will seek to institute reforms in use of secret funds, intended for use by national security agencies but had been granted leeway to civilian departments, Zubiri, leads committee, said in media interview.
Oversight committee can also make recommendations on guidelines in using secret funds, Zubiri said, citing joint circular of Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Governance Commission for GOCC (government-owned and controlled corporation) and the Commission on Audit.
In joint circular, confidential expenses are allocated to civilian government agencies for their surveillance activities that support their mandate and operations.
Among allowed expenses for secret funds are: purchase of information necessary for national security and peace and order; rental of transport vehicles on confidential activities; maintenance of safehouses; purchase or rental of equipment for confidential operations and payment of rewards to tipsters.
Joint circular also allows confidential funds to be used to "uncover/prevent illegal activities that pose clear and present danger to agency personnel/property or other facilities and resources under agency protection, done in coordination with appropriate law enforcement agencies."
"Confidential and intelligence funds do not undergo regular audit procedure…we can review guidelines to make sure these are clear and simplified…its use should be limited in scope, not anything under the sun… menu of allowable confidential expenses in circular is so broad," Zubiri said.
Senate President said some confidential funds for civilian agencies can be put to better use if realigned to actual national defense and security agencies, such as Philippine Coast Guard, has P10-million intelligence fund that has not been augmented since 2009.
He denied "political accommodation" in executive's grant of confidential funds in National Expenditure Program. But he agreed Department of Education (DepEd)'s confidential funds can be better spent on more concrete programs to address insurgency, such as improving facilities in remote schools so that these do not get infiltrated by communist rebels.
Use of secret funds came under greater scrutiny following Vice President Sara DuterteCarpio's request for P500-million confidential fund for her office, as well as P125 million for DepEd, she concurrently heads.
She received backlash after she admitted Office of the Vice President (OVP) requested P125 million in confidential funds in 2022 from Office of the President's contingent fund. Critics said transfer was illegal because there is no line item in OVP's 2022 budget for confidential funds, and that confidential fund is not among allowable expenses for contingent funds.
Duterte has justified her use of secret funds even for DepEd to conduct surveillance in public schools suspected of being targets of communist recruitment.
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