Escudero wants detailed plan on use of confidential, intelligence funds

Senator Francis Escudero said government officials asking for confidential and intelligence funds under the 2024 national budget should submit a utilization plan.

Escudero said the spending plan will require government agencies to have "greater accountability and ensure that public funds are spent judiciously and efficiently."

He added that officials should submit a "physical and financial plan" on how they intend to spend their requests for confidential funds "without violating the confidential nature of the funds."

Escudero cited the Joint Memorandum Circular 2015- 01 issued by the Department of Budget and Management, the Commission on Audit, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of National Defense and the Governance Commission for the GOCCs on 8 January 2015 which prescribed "guidelines on the entitlement, release, use, reporting, and audit of confidential and/or intelligence funds."

"We will grant it for as long as we see the physical and financial plan [are] broken down according to the JMC without violating the confidentiality that you need in order to perform your job," Escudero stressed.

Based on the JMC, confidential funds refer to the lump-sum amount provided as such in the General Appropriations Act for national government agencies, in appropriation ordinances for local government units and in the corporate operating budgets or COBs for government-owned and controlled corporations, for their confidential expenses.

"There are specific rules as to where this can be spent, how this can be spent, and to disabuse the mind of people that this is like a secret fund, it is not. Secret 'yung submission ng expenditure but they are only specific items that you can spend it on," Escudero said.

The JMC stated that the funds are not to be used for payment of salaries and wages, overtime, additional compensation, allowance or other fringe benefits of officials and employees, representation/ entertainment expenses, consultancy fees and construction or acquisition of buildings or housing structures.