DOF drops P1 million confidential fund request for 2024

The Department of Finance withdrew its request for a P1 million confidential fund for 2024, a DOF official said Friday.

Finance Undersecretary Catherine Fong disclosed this at the Senate plenary deliberaions on the DOF’s proposed spending plan for next year.

“The Secretary of Finance has already agreed to give up the [confidential and intelligence fund] in the House of Representatives,” Fong said.

It was Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III who asked the DOF to justify its request for CIF for 2024.

“Bakit pa? Bakit gusto niyo pang maging controversial? Anong surveillance ang ginagawa niyo?” Pimentel asked.

(Why are you requesting for a CIF? Why do you want to be part of these controversial funds? What kind of surveillance are you doing?)

According to Fong, the initial proposal for P1 million CIF was for “facilitating swift and vital information gathering in terms of addressing economic vulnerabilities and safeguarding national financial security.”

Pimentel noticed that the agencies seeking CIFs were connecting everything to national security.

“Lahat kino-connect na natin sa… national security. Sana, I just make an appeal to the secretary, just give that up para wala na tayong issue. Nadadamay lang po ang inyong department,” he said.

(Government agencies keep on connecting everything to national security. I want to appeal to the secretary - give that up.)

Pimentel said other agencies should emulate the DOF and give up their request for a CIF.

According to GMA Integrated News Research, more government civilian agencies were now asking for confidential funds under the proposed 2024 budget.

Twenty-eight agencies have formally sought confidential funds in their 2024 budget, up from the 21 offices asking for such appropriation 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 was 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.

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 used by the uniformed, military personnel, and intelligence practitioners in sourcing information related to national security. — DVM, GMA Integrated News