Palace defends OP request of confi, intel funds worth P4.5B

Malacañang defended Thursday the request of the Office of the President for a confidential and intelligence fund, saying that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is the chief architect of the country's security and foreign policy.

''Tandaan po natin, ito din naman po ay nanggaling sa DBM, that the President is the commander-in-chief and chief architect of national policy or national security and foreign policy at kinakailangan ng pondo ng Pangulo,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a briefing.

(Let's remember, this also came from the DBM, that the President is the commander-in-chief and chief architect of national policy or national security and foreign policy; therefore, his office needs funds.)

''Ang tandaan po natin, ang confidential funds o ang pera ay hindi naman masama kung ginagamit sa tama. Ang confidential funds or pondo ay nagiging masama kung ginagamit ng isang corrupt iyon lang naman po,'' Castro added. 

(Let's remember that confidential funds are not bad as long as they are properly used. It would be bad if this will be used for corruption.) 

The Marcos administration is proposing over P10 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the Fiscal Year 2026 P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP).

The Department of Budget and Management said the Office of the President would get the highest CIF allocation at P4.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P1.848 billion.

Confidential funds refer to allocations in the national budget, as its name suggests, for confidential expenses involving surveillance activities in civilian government agencies

Likewise, intelligence funds are meant for expenses related to intelligence activities or information gathering activities of the military, uniformed personnel, and other intelligence agencies tasked with ensuring national security. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News