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Senate Finance Committee chairperson Senator JV Ejercito said Sunday that under the proposed 2027 national budget, confidential and intelligence funds should only be allocated to agencies tasked with law enforcement, intelligence, and national security.
“Confidential and intelligence funds should be limited to agencies whose mandate is law enforcement, intelligence, and national security,” Ejercito told Super Radyo dzBB.
““Confidential funds do not mean they are unaccountable. Just because they are classified as confidential does not mean they should no longer be subject to accountability,” he added.
Under Joint Circular No. 2015-01, confidential funds (CF) refer to lump-sum amounts allocated to national government agencies (NGAs) for “surveillance activities in civilian government agencies intended to support the agency’s mandate or operations.”
Meanwhile, intelligence funds (IF) refer to lump-sum amounts provided to NGAs for “intelligence information gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel, and Intelligence Practitioners that have a direct impact on national security.”
READ: EXPLAINER: Understanding confidential funds and intelligence funds
Lawmakers are now scrutinizing confidential and intelligence funds more closely amid the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Duterte is currently facing an impeachment trial on allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
Article 1 of the impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of committing impeachable offenses through the “systematic misappropriation and irregular liquidation” of confidential funds.
These include P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education during her tenure as education secretary.
As the trial enters its seventh week, Ejercito said the public should wait for the impeachment court’s decision on whether the trial will return to an afternoon schedule.
The House prosecution team earlier said it favored starting Duterte’s impeachment trial at 3 p.m. onwards, while the Vice President’s defense team said it would comply with any schedule changes implemented by the impeachment court.
However, Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol said the public should focus more on the evidence presented in the impeachment trial rather than changes to its schedule.
“What the public should be talking more about is the evidence being presented and the legal theories of both sides,” Tongol said.— MCG, GMA News
