National gov’t spends P9.34B in confidential, intelligence funds in 2022

MANILA, Philippines – The national government in 2022 spent P9.34 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), with the Office of the President (OP) accounting for nearly half of it at P4.5 billion.

Rodrigo Duterte was still president in the first half of the subject year, with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assuming the post in the last half. 

The 2022 amount represented a decrease of P446 million from the CIF spent by Duterte’s government in his last full year in office, which was at P9.786 billion. 

If the total is broken down into the two types of nearly audit-free expenses, the 2022 confidential expenses, at P3.762 billion, was lower by P682.45 million than the P4.354 billion spent in 2021.

The 2022 intelligence expenses, at P5.669 billion, was however, higher by  P236.5 million than the P5.432 billion spent in 2021.

The Commission on Audit (COA) released on Monday, October 9, the 2022 Annual Financial Report-Volume 1 (National Government), showing the total CIF of various government agencies.  

While the soft copy of the report is uploaded in COA’s website, hard copies of the 500-page report were sent to the OP, the Office of the Vice President (OVP), the Office of the Senate President, the Office of the Speaker, the Senate committee on finance, and the House committee on appropriations on September 26.

Confidential funds: More than half goes to OP

The OP spent P2.25 billion in confidential funds in 2022, accounting for 61.28% of the national government’s total confidential spending.

What remained of the total P3.762 billion were spent by the following:

• “Other executive offices” – P764.888 million (or 20.83%)
  • Including Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency – P500 million
  • Including National Security Council – P182 million 
• Department of Justice – P302.133 million (8.23%)
  • Including Office of the Secretary – P150.58 million 
  • Including National Bureau of Investigation – P141.55 million
• Office of the Vice President (OVP) – P125 million (3.4%)
• Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – P60.6 million (1.65%)
  • Including Philippine National Police – P1.12 billion
• Department of Finance – P60.527 million (1.65%)
• National Defense – P37.429 million (1.02%)
• “Other departments/offices” – P22.468 million (0.61%)
• Social Welfare and Development – P20 million (0.55%)
• Metropolitan Manila Development Authority – P18.75 million (0.51%)
• Foreign Affairs – P10 million (0.27%)

On Tuesday, October 10, the House committee on appropriations announced that the it had removed from the 2024 budget the confidential funds requested by the OVP, the Department of Education, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The House panel caved in to public outcry over the confidential fund requests by agencies that are not involved in national security and peace and order work.

Intelligence funds: President’s office as top spender

According to state auditors, the OP got the biggest slice of the intelligence funds in 2022, spending P2.5 billion, equivalent to the 39.69% of the total P5.668 billion intelligence expenses of the national government. 

The rest of the intelligence funds were spent by the following:

• Department of National Defense – P1.742 billion (30.74%)
  • Including General Headquarters – P1.24 billion 
  • Including Philippine Army – P444 million
• DILG – P1.118 billion (19.72%)
• “Other executive offices” – P548.2 million (9.67%) 
• Department of Transportation – P10 million (0.18%).

– Rappler.com