There is something fundamentally wrong if the Office of the Vice President is guaranteed a higher confidential and intelligence fund (CIF) over the Department of National Defense (DND) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and other government agencies whose primary task includes intelligence gather and law enforcement, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said.

Vice President Sara Duterte answers senators' query regarding the proposed P2.385-billion budget of the Office of the Vice President for 2024 during the Senate Committee on Finance's hearing on next year's budget on Sept. 4, 2023. (Senate PRIB Photo)

Hontiveros pointed this out during the Senate Committee on Finance’s hearing on the proposed P2.3-billion budget for 2024 of the OVP headed by Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, September 4.

The OVP has proposed a P500-million budget worth of confidential funds under the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for next year.

“There is something fundamentally wrong when the OVP alone has a confidential fund of half a billion pesos while the NICA itself, which is the government's primary intelligence arm, has confidential and intelligence funds of only P341.2-million,” Hontiveros pointed out.

“Alam naman natin kung kanino talaga dapat napupunta ang confidential at intelligence funds - sa DND, NICA at iba pang responsable para sa national security, law enforcement at border protection (We all know who should be given CIFs—DND, NICA and other agencies that are responsible for national security, law enforcement and border protection),” the deputy minority leader added.

During the budget hearing, Duterte told senators that her office can live without confidential funds.

But the vice president said the OVP needs the CIF to ensure the “safe, secure and successful” implementation of her office’s projects and programs.

During the hearing, Duterte also admitted to using the confidential funds for this year for free bus rides, tree plantings and other programs unrelated to security matters.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian pointed out that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has the same “Libreng Sakay Program” by the OVP’s which is already funded by the national government.

“How is this different and how is it being synchronized with the DOTr's point-to-point program... I just want to understand how these two programs are working together,” Gatchalian asked.

Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, OVP Chief of Staff, replied that the OVP has an existing memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the DOTr on the Libreng Sakay program.

Lopez also said the OVP supports the DOTr program by providing buses to the DOTr.

Aside from the free bus rides, Duterte also admitted that among the initiatives of the OVP includes tree planting activities and feeding programs.

Hontiveros, however, pointed out that the initiatives do not fall under the exclusive list of programs in which confidential funds may be used, as laid out in the Commission on Audit-Department of Budget and Management (COA-DBM) Joint Circular No. 2015-01.

“As important as free bus rides and tree buildings are, these are not projects involving national security for which confidential funds should be used,” she said pointing out that those projects can be funded using regular funds of the agencies.

Hontiveros then urged her colleagues to take up the Vice President on her word that she and the OVP can fulfill their functions without the hundreds of millions in confidential funds.