Congressman Presses Office of the President on Secret Funds Transparency

A PHILIPPINE congressman on Wednesday questioned the Office of the President’s (OP) refusal to disclose how it plans to spend P4.55 billion in confidential and intelligence funds next year, saying the allocation accounts for almost half of its proposed budget. Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio asked Bataan Rep. Albert C. Garcia, who sponsored the OP’s proposed P10.16-billion budget for 2027, to provide a breakdown of the amounts earmarked for specific activities. The OP is seeking P2.25 billion in confidential funds and P2.3 billion in intelligence funds, unchanged from this year. The government-wide allocation is P10.773 billion. Mr. Garcia said the funds support national security and peace-and-order operations, including activities involving the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and Anti-Terrorism Council. “Bottom line, the intelligence fund is for national security, and confidential funds are for peace and order,” he said. Mr. Garcia declined to disclose how much would go to each activity, citing their sensitive nature. “It is truly confidential in nature because the activities being handled here are highly sensitive,” he said in Filipino. Mr. Tinio said the Department of Justice had provided lawmakers with a breakdown of its confidential funds during its own budget deliberations. “We expect that, at a minimum, the Office of the President will also have that same level of transparency,” he said in mixed English and Filipino. Mr. Tinio also sought access to quarterly accomplishment reports covering the OP’s confidential funds, citing a General Appropriations Act provision requiring agencies to report on their use. Mr. Garcia said the reports were submitted quarterly to the offices of the Speaker and Senate president. “I, as a member of the House, respectfully request that we be provided with these quarterly reports,” Mr. Tinio said. Mr. Garcia said access to the reports was an internal matter for the House to resolve. Mr. Tinio also questioned the OP’s reliance on its Commission on Audit (CoA) opinion to defend its handling of the funds, citing issues raised over confidential spending during Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial. Mr. Garcia said the OP had received an unmodified audit opinion and that its latest credit notice covering confidential and intelligence funds had been updated as of June. Mr. Tinio said the P4.55-billion allocation deserved greater scrutiny because it represented about 45% of the OP’s proposed budget. The proposed government-wide confidential and intelligence fund allocation for 2027 stands at P10.773 billion, down 8.8% from this year. Mr. Tinio separately questioned the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), including disparities in allocations among local governments and the OP’s role in determining how much they receive. He said some local governments had received P500 million or more, while most recipients received about P30 million. Mr. Garcia said the LGSF was appropriated by Congress through the General Appropriations Act and implemented by the Department of Budget and Management under its guidelines and online application process. “The Executive is merely implementing the budget which was passed by both Houses of Congress,” he said. Mr. Tinio also questioned whether releases complied with an Administrative Code provision requiring presidential approval for spending from lump-sum appropriations. Party-list Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago separately questioned the administration’s decision to suspend excise taxes only on liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene despite elevated fuel prices. Mr. Garcia said the OP was awaiting the Department of Finance’s recommendation on whether further reductions in fuel excise taxes were warranted. “The recommendation of the Department of Finance will probably reach the Office of the President within this week, and most likely we will have an announcement early next week,” he said. Ms. Elago said elevated fuel prices were weighing on drivers, farmers, fisherfolk and other workers. “They are not asking for a rollback, they are actually calling for a massive reduction in their burden due to the high price of oil,” she said in Filipino. — Pexcel John Bacon