The Office of the Vice President (OVP) will not seek confidential funds under the 2025 national budget, Vice President Sara Duterte said on Saturday, June 29.
Vice President Sara Duterte delivers her message during the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) Pasidungog held in Cebu City on Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook)
The official made the statement on the sidelines of the OVP’s Pasidungog event, an awarding ceremony to recognize the OVP’s partners in implementing various programs held in Cebu City.
“For the Office of the Vice President, no. Wala kaming (We don’t have a) proposal ng (for) confidential funds for this year,” she said.
The confidential funds mess, which brought Duterte under fire in 2023 after she requested P650 million—P500 million for OVP and P150 million for Department of Education (DepEd)—in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) from Congress might have started the cracks in the UniTeam.
After it was revealed that she spent P125 million in 11 days in December 2022, the House of Representatives, headed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Marcos’ cousin, realigned the proposed confidential funds.
This prompted former president Rodrigo Duterte to verbally attack Romualdez and accused him of dreaming to become President.
CIFs are used to gather and purchase information needed for the implementation of various programs relevant to national security and peace and order.
Duterte has previously justified her proposed CIFs to fight what she said was the recruitment of students to join communist and insurgency groups.