A group of education workers on Thursday, August 14, denounced the Marcos administration’s proposed P10.77 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) for 2026, branding them “pork barrel in disguise” and demanding their reallocation to education and social services.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), in a statement, demanded the abolition of the proposed CIF for 2026, nearly half of which would go to the Office of the President. The group said the amount could build over 4,300 classrooms instead of funding “pork barrel politics” under a new name.

ACT alleged that the proposed CIF is “no different” from the controversial allocations once wielded by Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Marcos may have denied Sara her confidential funds, but he has secured billions for himself under the same corrupt, unaccountable scheme,” ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua said. “Whether in Duterte’s hands or Marcos’, CIFs serve as personal war chests for political patronage and repression, leaving public services to survive on crumbs,” he added.

Citing the proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), ACT noted that P4.5 billion—nearly half of the CIF allocation—would go to the Office of the President, which, the group pointed out, has no direct mandate for intelligence operations.

The group warned that such funds are prone to abuse, potentially financing political patronage, surveillance, and repression instead of addressing urgent public needs.

Quetua stressed that the billions allocated for CIFs could instead be used to address chronic shortages in public education.

“Teachers are made to beg for classrooms, textbooks, and decent salaries, while billions are handed out as shadow budgets beyond the reach of auditors,” he said. “The amount could already construct more than 4,300 classrooms. Is this not a deliberate betrayal of the people’s trust?” he added.

ACT further raised transparency concerns, noting that CIFs are almost impossible to audit.

Under current rules, the Commission on Audit (COA) only receives certifications from agency heads rather than detailed expenditure reports—a lack of accountability that the group said mirrors the controversial CIF allocations once held by Duterte.

The group also urged Congress to abolish all CIFs across government agencies and redirect the funds to priority public services.

“Teachers, students, and ordinary Filipinos are told there’s no budget for our needs, yet billions are reserved for confidential funds that enrich and empower those in power while evading public accountability,” Quetua said. “This is the same old pork barrel politics, with only the name and the holder having changed,” he added.