Marikina City 2nd Rep. Stella Quimbo (Contributed photo)

At least 10 agencies will be affected by the House leadership's planned realignment of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) in the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2024. 

This was bared in an interview Friday, Sept. 29 by Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, who didn't go into specifics. 

"Sa ngayon po ang apektadong ahensya ay nasa 10 agencies (As of now, 10 agencies will be affected)," said Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations, said. 

"Of course na-announce na po ni Chairman [Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep.] Zaldy Co ang pag-scrap po ng confidential funds ng OVP at DepEd (Of course Chairman Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co has already announced that the confidential funds funds the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education would be scrapped)," she said. 

Both under Vice President Sara Duterte, the OVP and DepEd have a combined confidential funds allocation of P650 million under the 2024 GAB. 

Quimbo did not clarify if the 10 agencies were solely composed of CIF donors, or if it also included the recipient agencies. 

"Pero sa totoo lang po patuloy po natin pang pinag-aaralan, tyina-chop-chop pa po ang iba pang mga pondo sa iba’t ibang mga ahensya. Patuloy po ang pag-rationalize natin ng confidential and intelligence funds," Quimbo said. 

(But in truth, we continue to study it, we're chopping up the other funds of the different agencies. We continue to rationalize confidential and intelligence funds.) 

On Wednesday morning, Sept. 27, House leaders representing the various big political parties came out with a joint statement revealing their "collective decision" to reallocate the CIFs of civilian agencies to agencies that have to do intelligence and security in a bid to address the "escalating threats in the West Philippine Sea". 

The House approved the 2024 GAB on third and final reading during plenary session Wednesday night.