Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Monday, Oct. 2 that there should be clear rules and limitations in the use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), whether it's at the local government or national government level. 

According to her, the 1987 Constitution empowers local government units (LGUs) with fiscal autonomy, and LGUs are mandated to ensure peace and order within their jurisdictions.  

However, there should be a reasonable threshold on the amount that LGUs - like national agencies- may allocate as CIFs, if only to promote accountability and transparency.

"The Senate should look at the questionable P460-million CIFs by the Davao City government from 2019 to 2022, as shown in Commission on Audit (COA) findings," she said. 

"Nakakalula ang halos kalahating bilyong confidential funds ng Davao City kada taon, kung ikukumpara sa CIFs ng mga malaki at mayamang lungsod gaya ng Makati, Manila at Cebu na hindi man lang umabot sa P100 million (Davao City's half a billion confidential funds per year is shocking, when compared to CIFs of huge and rich cities such as Makati, Manila and Cebu which did not even reach P100 million," she noted.

The opposition senator went on to ask why Davao City's CIF is higher than national agencies like the PCG.

"Are these challenges really so much worse than China’s incursions and abuses in our territorial waters? Inaagaw na rin ba ng Tsina ang teritoryo nila tulad sa West Philippine Sea? (Is China also claiming their territory like the WPS?)" she asked sarcastically.

Hontiveros said that she is looking forward to raising this issue and others involving CIFs at the upcoming Senate plenary discussions on the 2024 national budget.  

She added that the public's funds are not some sort of "ATM" or automated teller machine that they can just spend and exhaust.