DBM: Only agencies with justified needs will receive confidential funds next year

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) stated on Monday that only agencies with justified needs for confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) would receive these resources next year.

Speaking during the EJAP-SMC Economic Forum, DBM Principal Economist Joselito Basilio explained that the adjustments in the CIF allocation are part of a broader effort to ensure that funding is distributed based on agencies’ project readiness and absorptive capacity.

“It would be something similar to what happened in the GAA. Only those agencies that should have it will have it as per the GAA 2024 that was applied in Congress,” Basilio said.

“Some agencies received more relative to what their GAA was, and some of them, depending on the agency, project readiness, and absorptive capacity, received less than their NEP for 2025,” Basilio added.

Several government agencies initially proposed CIFs for this year, but many of these proposals were either withdrawn by the departments themselves or removed by Congress during the budget discussions.

While final figures for the 2025 budget are still under discussion, Basilio said the Department of Health (DOH) might face a reduction in its budget. “If DOH will receive less budget, that’s because of some of the COVID-related expenses we had that we are trying to remove now,” Basilio pointed out.

The Budget official mentioned that the proposed budget is on track to be delivered to Congress by the end of July, as the department is finalizing the details following the receipt of P9.3 trillion in budget proposals from government agencies.

This contrasts with the P6.532 trillion budget set by the DBCC for 2025, which constitutes 22 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product growth.