COA open to amending guidelines on use of confidential, intel funds

The Commission on Audit (COA) is keen on amending a 2015 joint circular governing the use and auditing of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba told lawmakers Thursday.

Answering questions from Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel during the deliberation on COA's proposed P13-billion 2024 budget, Cordoba conceded that 2015 "is quite a long time already."

Asked by Manuel if COA is open to amending the joint circular given the increasing allocation of CIF in government agencies, including civilian ones, Cordoba said they will convene a meeting to be attended by the same agencies behind the joint circular "so we can update."

The 2015 joint circular was issued by the COA, Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, and the Governance Commission for Government Owned andd Controlled Corporations.

"Within the third quarter of this year, magpapatawag po kami ng meeting sa ating stakeholders. Puwede tapusin [ang review] within the year, and we will update the committee and Congress of any changes," Cordoba said.

The said joint circular defines confidential expenses as expenses  pertaining/related to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the agency.

Intelligence expenses, on the other hand, are defined as those related to intelligence information gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel and intelligence practitioners that have direct impact to national security.

The confidential and intelligence funds provided under the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024 has reached P10 billion this year, with the Office of the President getting P4.5 billion of it and the Office of the Vice President having a P500-million share.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will have an additional P50 million CIF lodged under the Department of Agriculture, an agency which he concurrently heads.

Vice President Sara Duterte, on the other hand, will have an additional P150 million CIF under the Department of Education since she is also the Education Secretary.

COA, for its part, has P10 million CIF under its proposed P13-billion budget for 2024.

According to Cordoba, COA uses its CIF for discreet investigations, probing complaints against their personnel, and providing security to COA officials and other personnel who serve as witnesses in corruption-related cases filed by government prosecutors before the Sandiganbayan. —KBK, GMA Integrated News