MANILA, Philippines – Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman on Tuesday, September 5, told the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that its request for higher confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) was more justified than those of the offices led by Vice President Sara Duterte.

“I think between the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President, your mission is more germane in availing a reasonable amount of confidential funds,” he said as the House committee on appropriations tackled CHR’s proposed budget for 2024.

The National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) allotted P1 million in confidential funds for the CHR in 2024, the same amount the commission received in 2023.

Towards the end of the hearing, House appropriations panel vice chairperson Stella Quimbo quizzed CHR about the utilization rate in the previous years.

CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc said they used 100% of the funds, but stressed that the commission needed more as among its mandates, the “most important” was its role to investigate human rights violations, as well as providing victim support and witness protection.

“As an investigative body, it is surprising that the commission is allocated a very minimal amount for confidential fund, and how can we effectively provide that service [with the low budget]?” he said.

Established through the 1987 Philippine Constitution, CHR primarily handles the investigations of human rights violations either on its own initiative or through complaints filed by victims.

CHR received 5,650 complaints of human rights violations by December 2022. Out of this number, the commission already acted on 3,292. There are also 202 pending cases filed in different relevant government agencies, including regional trial courts, and the Office of the Ombudsman, among others.

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Duterte’s offices are requesting hefty CIF allocations for 2024 – P500 million for the OVP and P125 million for DepEd. In justifying the funding, the Vice President said that “education is intertwined with national security.”

Critics slammed the big appropriation, pointing out that there were better ways to spend the huge amount requested.

On Tuesday, ACT Teachers Representative France Castro cited CHR as one of institutions that needed the bigger funding more, as the commission faced a smaller budget this year. This, as CHR continues to tackle challenges caused by small resources, both in terms of financial and manpower.

The National Expenditure Program submitted to Congress by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) allotted P976 million for the CHR in 2024, or P1 billion less than the commission’s original proposal of P1.924 billion.

This also marked a P25.6 million decrease from 2023’s P1 billion.

“No wonder na iyong mga sinasabi natin kanina na mandates ng CHR ay nasa-sacrifice [because of the lower budget],” Castro said. “Dapat mailagay sa mga mas kapaki-pakinabang at mas transparent na mga agency [ang confidential funds].“

(No wonder that the CHR is having a hard time fulfilling some of its mandates due to the lower budget. Maybe we should allot the confidential funds to agencies that would benefit more.) – Rappler.com