The Marcos administration has lowered its confidential and intelligence funds request by 16 percent, according to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Monday.
In a press briefing at the DBM Central Office, Pangandaman said the total allocation, from P12.3 billion in the 2024 General Appropriations Act, declined to P10.286 billion in the proposed 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Data broken down, the NEP for next year has P5.92 billion set aside for intelligence and P4.37 billion set aside for confidential funds.
The 2015 DBM-Commission on Audit (COA) Joint Circular says that "confidential funds" are for surveillance activities in civilian government agencies, while "intelligence expenses" are for activities of military and civilian personnel that directly affect national security and involve gathering intelligence.
"We just limited (the CIF for next year) to the departments and agencies na nangangailangan ng (who needed the) confidential and intel funds," Pangandaman said, emphasizing the rationale behind the reduction.
The decision aims to ensure that only essential departments and agencies with a demonstrated need for these funds receive allocations, contributing to a more efficient and transparent use of government resources.
This year, the Office of the President (OP) requested for P4.56 billion in confidential and intelligence funds for 2025, the same amount of funds they received this year.
On the other hand, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will not receive any CIF for next year as the executive branch continued last year’s practice of removing secret funds from civilian agencies.
During the last year's budget talks, Vice President Sara Duterte was placed on the hot seat after the OVP spent P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in 2022, which evetually led to the House's decision to turn down her request for P650 million in secret funds for 2024.
Aside from the Office of the President, the Department of National Defense will also receive P1.8 billion in CIF.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is set to receive P579.4 million, with the majority allocated to the Office of the Secretary at P364.8 million.
The Bureau of Immigration will receive P20 million, the National Bureau of Investigation P175.4 million, and the Office of the Solicitor General P19.2 million.
Other executive offices will receive a total of P1.8 billion pesos.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council is allocated P7.5 million; the Games and Amusement Board, P4 million; the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, P911 million; and the National Security Council, P250 million.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) will receive P60 million, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency will also get P500 million.
Additionally, the Office of the Ombudsman is set to receive P51 million pesos, while other smaller allocations include the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Audit.
The proposed 2025 budget was submitted to Congress earlier than any previous budget submissions during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s term, with the executive branch presenting the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the House just seven days following the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
According to the 1987 Constitution, the executive branch has up to 30 days after the SONA to submit the NEP to Congress.
After the turnover, lawmakers generally look over the NEP for days before the appropriations panel starts talking about it at the committee level.
