By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

WHILE CONFIDENTIAL and intelligence funds (CIF) of non-security and defense agencies are under tough scrutiny, a senator said on Monday that the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) deserve such funding to help its crackdown on illegal recruiters preying on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“If other government agencies can be given these confidential funds, why not the DMW since they need these more,” Senator Rafael “Raffy” T. Tulfo told a Senate hearing on the DMW budget for 2024 and proposed an initial P25-million CIF for the department.

“Other agencies are given hundreds of millions of pesos [in confidential funds], so to be fair we should give the DMW since I see the need to do so,” said Mr. Tulfo.

“There are so many illegal recruiters and illegal recruitment agencies that must be hunted down… There are so many scammers who are victimizing OFWs,” he added.

DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac told the same hearing that his agency’s surveillance division can only shut down illegal recruitment firms, but does not have the authority to conduct arrests.

Last week, Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said that their special oversight committee plans to transfer confidential funds from civil service offices to intelligence and defense agencies, noting these bodies would need them to bolster national security.

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito said more intelligence funds must be given to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard amid rising tensions with China.

Senators Aquilino Martin “Koko” D. Pimentel III and Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros-Baraquel had questioned why Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio needed P500 million in CIF, much larger than the Defense department’s request of only P87 million and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency’s P1 million.

‘LEGAL CONCERNS’ OVER CIF
On Monday, the lady senator urged the Vice President to address legal concerns surrounding her CIF last year instead of attacking critics.

“If you’re so confident about those confidential funds, then defend them publicly,” Ms. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement. “Given the significant responsibility of government officials, I demand a shred of competence when it comes to fiscal matters.”

Ms. Duterte had directed her fury at the senator and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro for scrutinizing her proposed CIF totaling P650 million.

Ms. Castro questioned why the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent P125 million in confidential funds last year, when her predecessor — former vice president Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo — did not have such in the OVP’s budget in 2022.

In a statement, Ms. Duterte attacked her critics and praised her backers, but gave little explanation on why the OVP and DepEd had requested confidential funds worth P500 million and P150 million, respectively, for 2024.

Earlier, she said her CIF was allotted for the “safe, secure and successful implementation” of her office’s socioeconomic projects, intelligence gathering and projects supporting the Office of the President. — with Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

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