THE Office of the Vice President (OVP) requested P500 million from Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF) and P150 million for the Department of Education (DepEd) for the 2024 budget. As such, high-ranking government officials have asked for it throughout the years. For this instance, Vice President Sara Duterte explained to the Senate that they can only propose but are not insisting. Further stating that it can live without the confidential funds, but the work will be much easier in monitoring its implementation of programs, projects, and activities. 

According to TV5’s Frontline Pilipinas, “confidential funds are “lump-sum funds” set aside in the national budget for expenses related to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies.” In 2015, a joint resolution between the Commission on Audit (COA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG), and the Department of National Defense (DND) defined and laid down how these expenses will be used. It states that confidential funds shall be used to programs relating to national security and peace and order, rental of transportation vehicles and incidental expenses, and used to investigate illegal activities that pose a clear and present danger to personnel and resources under the agency. 

The legality of having confidential funds must not be a reason why there is such a huge allocation for it. The Vice President conveyed that she wishes the criticisms circulating her request over the funds would eventually halt. The lack of transparency was even brought up by some government officials, who she called ‘dramatic.’ It should at least reflect the quality of governance. It should include transparency, not only for the government, but also transparency to its citizens, in explaining their plan and purpose to use the huge amount of allocated funds and how they plan to utilize it.