President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate)

The high spending of confidential and intelligence funds by the Office of the President (OP) in 2023 is part of President Marcos’ obligation as the country’s Commander-in-Chief, lawmakers said on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Based on the Commission on Audit’s (COA) annual financial report, the OP spent a combined P4.56 billion last year—topping the list of government agencies’ expenditures.

In a press conference, Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said spending such an amount is Marcos’ prerogative as the architect of the Philippines’ military policy.

“Dahil yun may trabaho at may obligasyon ang ating Presidente bilang commander-in-chief ng Sandatahan ng ating bansa. At ang kaniya po it concerns national security,” said Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

(It's because our President has a job and an obligation as the commander-in-chief of our country's armed forces. And this concerns national security.)

Supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte posted criticisms on social media against the Chua panel for supposedly singling out the lady official in its congressional inquiry.

The panel, also known as the House Blue Ribbon Committee, has been probing the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s tenure as secretary.

1-RIDER Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said that the panel has yet to investigate the OP’s confidential and intelligence funds spending since the COA has not issued any notice of disallowance.

“There was no notice of disallowance in the OP and that's why no one has filed any privilege speech or resolution,” said Gutierrez.

“Dito po sa OVP, nagkaroon pa na notice of disallowance. So that's one difference po siguro,” he noted.

(Here in the OVP, there was a notice of disallowance. So maybe that's one difference.)

The COA earlier issued a notice of disallowance on the OVP’s P73 million in confidential funds, spent in 2022, over certain irregularities.

Gutierrez pointed out that the Blue Ribbon panel is limited to investigating confidential funds. He claimed that the bulk of the OP’s P4.56 billion spent last year concerns intelligence funds, which are related to national security concerns.

“If someone filed a privilege speech or a resolution, regarding the President, if ever it was found to be used in matters not related to their functions, then I think the committee would also take that matter up,” the lawmaker clarified.

“But given po na (that) one…that was intelligence and not confidential. And two, wala namang (there is no) notice of disallowance. I think we'd understand kung bakit wala po actually (why there isn’t actually a) complaint,” he reiterated.