Good idea to update 2015 joint circular on CIFs, Cordoba tells House panel

(MANILA BULLETIN)

Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba said it's a good idea to update the joint circular used to scrutinize the utilization of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) by government agencies. 

Cordoba made this remark Thursday, Aug. 24 during the House Committee on Appropriations' hearing on COA's 2024 budget. 

“Bukas po ba o may plano po ba yung COA na i-amend yung joint circular 2015-01? (Are you open to, or does COA have plans to amend joint circular 2015-01?)" asked Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel during his interpellation of Cordoba. 

“Actually po maganda po yung inyong mungkahi (that's a good suggestion), because of the increase in the confidential and intelligence funds," the COA chief said. 

Cordoba also mentioned the obvious in that the joint circular was eight years old and thus, ripe for an "update". 

"We will try to convene po the inter-agency with the same agencies po na inter-agency committee na nag-promulgate po nitong rules na ito para po mai-update po natin because medyo matagal na rin po ito, 2015 pa po ito.” 

(We will try to convene po the inter-agency with the same agencies that comprised the inter-agency committee that promulgated these rules so that we may update it, since it's been a long time, this is from 2015.) 

Manuel and the rest of the militant Makabayan bloc in the House have been very critical of the allocation of CIFs in the different departments under the P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024. 

CIF are lump sum allocations in the national budget for expenses related to surveillance and intelligence information-gathering activities. 

A 2015 joint circular between COA, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government, Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) and the Department of National Defense laid down the rules on CIFs.