Palace says OVP P221.4-M confidential fund legal

The Office of the Executive Secretary has defended the legality of the confidential fund totaling P221.424 million that was released to the Office of the Vice President in 2022

In a statement to media on Tuesday, the OES said the fund was disbursed legally pursuant to "Special Provision No. 1 of last year's Contingent Fund" for "maintenance operating and other expenses items."

"Under Special Provision No. 1, the President is authorized to approve releases to cover funding requirements of new or urgent activities of national government agencies, among others, that need to be implemented during the year," it added.

The OES explained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "saw the need to release the fund in support of Vice President Sara Duterte's initiative, upon the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Management."

"Vice President Sara, who was newly elected then, needed funds for her new programs for the remaining period of 2022. The President supported this initiative and released the funds, with the favorable recommendation of the DBM," the statement read.

Of the amount, the OES said P125 million were confidential funds for "newly created satellite offices," while P96.424 million was for financial assistance or subsidies.

It also noted that there was legal basis to support the Office of the President's decision to release the P221-million lump sum to the OVP in 2022, which was charged against government contingent funds.

Initially, the OVP did not have a budget for confidential expenses in the 2022 General Appropriations Act. However, the transparency report released by the Commission on Audit in 2023 showed it had acquired a P125-million allocation for confidential expenses for that year.

In a recent Senate hearing, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte said the OVP had requested confidential funds from the OP as early as August 2022.

However, Duterte noted that the confidential funds were granted only in December 2022.

"We requested it from the Office of the President and it was granted through the Department of Budget and Management. I think the Department of Budget and Management can better answer the question of the transfer of funds from their source to the Office of the Vice President," she said.

The OVP has incorporated some P500 million in confidential funds in its proposed P2.385 billion budget for 2024.