Bato: Politicians speaking against confi funds have reasons except Makabayan bloc

For Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, fellow politicians who are speaking against confidential funds have their own reasons except for Makabayan bloc.

The lawmaker issued the statement after his political ally, Vice President Sara Duterte, said “whoever is against confidential funds is against peace. Whoever is against peace is an enemy of the nation.”

“I am with VP Sara in saying na…’yung humaharang d’yan ay 'yung mga enemy of peace. I am referring to the enemies of peace as to those na Makabayan bloc. ‘Yung mga ni- redtag ni Joma Sison na kanilang part and parcel of the revolutionary process, 'yung mga party-list as part of the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Dela Rosa said in a phone interview with reporters.

(I am with VP Sara in saying that those who are against confidential funds are enemies of peace. I am referring to Makabayan bloc. Those who were red-tagged by Joma Sison, whom he said were part and parcel of the revolutionary process, the party-lists of the CPP-New People’s Army—National Democratic Front.)

“I’m not referring to other politicians na may other reasons kung bakit sila umaayaw d’yan sa confidential funds (I’m not referring to other politicians who have other reasons why they are against confidential funds),” he added.

Dela Rosa said he was referring to left-leaning politicians who will be “affected if confidential funds will be allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Education.”

“Gagamitin talaga ‘yan against sa kanila doon sa mga nangre-recruit, kaya sila nagkukumahog na haharangin yan (That will be used against those who recruit for communist groups that's why they are scrambling to block it),” he said.

“They are fighting for their existence and one way of fighting for their existence is iwasan talaga na makakuha ng confidential funds itong si Vice President Inday Sara para tuloy-tuloy ang kanilang recruitment (is to prevent Vice President Sara from getting confidential funds so they can continue with their recruitment),” he added.

Asked what he wants to say to Makabayan bloc, Dela Rosa said “Huminto na tayo sa pagiging plastik (Stop being a hypocrite).”

In a statement, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro said it is “understandable” for Dela Rosa to defend the confidential funds of Duterte “because they abhor transparency and accountability.”

"They have spent billions of taxpayers' money trying to red tag us in the Makabayan bloc and other critics of the Duterte administration then and link us with the CPP-NPA-NDF but up till now they have found nothing because it is not true. Kung anu-anong kwento na, harassment, gawa-gawang kaso, pagpatay at iba pa ang ginawa ng mga kampon ng mga Duterte pero wala pa din,” she said.

Castro mentioned the supposed P144 million confidential funds of Davao City government in 2016 which she said reached P2.697 billion in 2022, as well as the P125 million confidential funds of the OVP and the requested P650 million funds in 2024.

“Mula 2016 hanggang ngayon nasa P3.472 billion na ang nakuha ni VP Duterte na confidential funds pero kahit anong patunay na nagastos ito ng tama ay wala tayo,"she said.

(From 2016 until today, VP Duterte has received P3.472 billion worth of confidential funds but they were still not able to show how they spent it propertly.)

"They are just inventing stories so they can justify the secret confidential funds that due to its very nature is a slush fund," said Castro.

She then reiterated her call to Duterte to explain how the P125 million confidential funds for the Office of the Vice President in 2022 was spent.

“Sa dami-daming sinabi na din ni Sen. Bato tulad ni VP Duterte ay di pa din sinasagot ang tanong saan at paano ginastos ang P125 million OVP confidential fund noong 2022 ipakita ninyo ang pruweba ng pagkagastos nito   'wag nang kung anu-ano pang palusot," she said.

Meanwhile, Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel said answering Dela Rosa’s  remarks is a “waste of time.”

“With all due respect, aksaya sa oras na patulan ang mga punto kaugnay ng confidential fund kung galing ito sa kapwa mambabatas na di pa inaral nang lubos ang issue, lalo na't nag-assume siya na may confidential fund ang dating VP (kahit wala naman) para depensahan ang current VP,” he said.

(With all due respect, it is a waste of time to respond to the points that were raised about confidential funds, especially if it comes from a fellow lawmaker who did not study the issue well enough and considering that he assumed that the former vice president got confidential funds, when it fact there is none, just to defend the current vice president.)

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) is seeking P500 million worth of confidential funds for fiscal year 2024.

The Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte also leads as Secretary, also proposed P150 million confidential funds for next year.

Last week, House committee on appropriations chairperson Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co said that the chamber will realign the confidential and intelligence funds of the OVP, DepEd, and other government agencies to augment the budgets of intelligence and security forces.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, for his part, said the Senate also intends to reallocate unnecessary funds in certain agencies to the intelligence agencies, the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Asked if the confidential funds lodged under the OVP and DepEd will be included, Zubiri said, “We shall review all agencies.”

According to GMA Integrated News Research, 28 agencies have formally sought confidential funds in their 2024 budget, up from the 21 offices in 2016.

The Department of Budget and Management earlier said the total amount of confidential and intelligence funds across all agencies in the proposed 2024 budget is P10.14 billion, including P4.5 billion for the Office of the President (P2.25 billion confidential and P2.31 billion intelligence fund) and P500 million for the Office of the Vice President.

A Joint Circular No. 2015-01 of the Commission on Audit (COA) identified confidential funds as allocations that civilian government agencies use for surveillance activities supporting their mandate.

This is different from the intelligence fund (IF) which is being used by the uniformed, military personnel, and intelligence practitioners in sourcing information related to national security.—AOL, GMA Integrated News