Opposition calls out intel fund allocations, Appro chair vows scrutiny

Opposition lawmakers on Thursday questioned the Marcos administration’s allocation of P10.14 billion to confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) in the proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget, saying the amount is simply “pork barrel” or discretionary.

"Civilian offices and agencies with no business in intelligence gathering or law enforcement are given so much presidential pork in the form of CIF. For example, the Office of the Vice-President again is proposing P500 million confidential funds and the Department of Education is asking for another P150 million confidential funds, all under the control and discretion of the Vice President,” House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list said in a statement.

“The largest CIF or presidential pork is under President [Ferdinand] Marcos, Jr. with P4.56 billion. [And] instead of slashing the CIF for 2024, the Marcos administration even increased it by P120 million more," she added.

Castro said the funds would have been better allocated to social services.

“Lubog na nga ang bansa sa utang at napakaraming mga social services na dapat pondohan pero mas inuuna pa ang pork,” Castro added.

(The country is drowning in debt and there are so many social services that need funding but they prioritize their pork.)

House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela party-list, for her part, raised concern over the fact that the CIF allocation for the Office of the President (OP), a civilian office, is much higher than the Department of National Defense’s of P1.898 billion.

"Sa gitna ng matinding krisis, mababang sahod at kagutuman, patuloy ang paglalaan ng dambuhalang pondo para sa confidential at intelligence funds. Kaya mahirap sabihing 'Agenda for Prosperity' ng 2024 budget. Hindi mangyayari ang sinasabing 'future-proof and sustainable economy' kung patuloy ang paglalaan ng bilyong pondo para sa confidential at intelligence funds which are vulnerable to corruption,” Brosas said in a separate statement.

(Amid the ongoing crisis, low wages and hunger, we are continuing to allot gargantuan amounts to these confidential and intelligence funds. That is why it is hard to say that the proposed 2024 budget sets an “Agenda for Prosperity”.)

"The women’s sector call for zero budget for CIF and other budget items which seek to perpetuate impunity. These should be realigned to disaster relief and social services," Brosas added.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Thursday that the proposed CIF allocation is justified and still subject to Commission on Audit (COA) rules.

Likewise, Pangandaman said that the P120-million increase in the 2014 CIF is for the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Presidential Security Group, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council. 

'Scrutinize properly'

In a separate statement, House appropriations panel chairperson Zaldy Co of Ako-Bicol party-list vowed that Congress will comprehensively scrutinize the proposed 2024 budget.

“The House appropriations committee will scrutinize the NEP properly in keeping with its mandate. By properly, I mean making sure that we look at the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) with a keen eye,” Co said.

“I have clear marching orders from the Speaker: make sure that the budget fully supports the Marcos administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda through sound fiscal management. It is necessary for our committee to check if the projected revenues and borrowings reflected in the BESF are enough to fund the expenses, and, just as importantly, if they are funding the right projects and initiatives,” Co added.

Co said the committee will also consider projected Gross National Product growth rates, treasury bill rates, foreign exchange rates, population growth rates, and other economic indicators in deliberating the proposed 2024 national budget of P5.768 trillion. — BM, GMA Integrated News