VICE-President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio attended Senate floor debates on the 2024 proposed budgets for her offices. On Thursday, Senator Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ M. Angara, Jr. told the plenary she was no longer pursuing the Office of the Vice President’s proposed P500-million confidential fund. — PHILIPPINE STAR/JESSE BUSTOS

By John Victor D. Ordoñez

THE OFFICE of the Vice President (OVP) will not pursue its request for P500 million in confidential funds next year “because it is seen to be divisive,” the Senate Finance Committee chief told the plenary on Thursday.

“The Vice President… she swore an oath to keep the country peaceful and strong,” Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said, citing a statement from Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, who sat a few feet away from him during the plenary session.

“According to her (Ms. Duterte-Carpio), the OVP can only propose a budget to support the safe implementation of its programs to alleviate poverty and promote [the] general welfare of Filipino families,” he added.

The Vice President had originally sought the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) for the “safe, secure and successful implementation” of her office’s socioeconomic projects, intelligence gathering projects and other programs supporting the OVP.

Likewise, the Department of Education (DepEd) will forgo its request for P150 million in confidential funds next year, Senator Pia S. Cayetano, who sponsored the DepEd’s budget for next year, said during plenary debates, citing a statement from Ms. Duterte-Carpio.

Ms. Cayetano said the Education Secretary requested for the funds to be realigned to the country’s learning recovery program, which includes capacity training programs for teachers among others.

Senators ended plenary debates on the P10.4 billion budget of Office of the President and the P1.874-billion budget of OVP, pending amendments.

“Given this manifestation of the Vice President, I commend her for now categorically stating to this House, that it is not a deferral to our wisdom,” Senator Aquilino “Koko” D. Pimentel III said.

Reacting to developments at the Senate, Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said it was good that Ms. Carpio-Duterte did not insist on pursuing the allocation of secret funds for her offices.

The move, he said, “saved her from the same embarrassment she experienced in the House,” which earlier voted to strip CIFs for 2024.

“More importantly, there is a clear consensus that her offices and other civilian agencies do not require confidential funds as their activities do not involve national security concerns,” Mr. Ridon said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

At Thursday’s plenary session, Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said she would propose amendments to the OVP’s budget at another time.

Earlier, she questioned how Ms. Duterte-Carpio had spent P125 million in confidential funds last year in just 11 days, citing the same state audit report raised in the House by Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo.

A group of lawyers on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to void the P125 million transfer of confidential funds to the OVP last year for being illegal.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pimentel raised the need to test the legality of granting intelligence funds to civilian agencies such as the Office of the President.

“Maybe in due time, a case can be filed with the Supreme Court to test the legality of the grant of intel funds to the Office of the President, being a civilian agency,” he said.

“The President himself… and his office are consumers of intelligence already gathered and organized by the intel practitioners under which are the agencies, some agencies in the Executive Branch,” he added.

The President’s office is asking for a P2.3-billion intelligence fund for next year.

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