OVP insists: ‘Confidential fund has been utilized appropriately’

The Office of the Vice President’s budget report with a portion unintentionally blotted out given to reporters. Photo from the Office of the Vice President.

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday maintained that it has utilized its confidential funds properly.

“The Confidential Fund has been utilized appropriately for its intended purpose and in accordance with the guidelines set by the national government,” said the OVP in a statement.

Responding to further media queries about the confidential funds it spent, the OVP furnished reporters with a budget sheet called “Summary of appropriations, obligations, disbursements, and balances by object of expenditures,” which detailed expenses such as personnel expenses and travel spendings.

However, a portion of the budget that the OVP gave was blotted out.

Upon checking the Office of the Vice President’s website for the same document, it was found that the part blocked out was the Confidential Fund that the Commission on Audit (COA) had raised.

After this story was posted, the OVP clarified that it had meant to highlight the portion of the confidential fund, not block it.

The budget showed what the COA had previously reported — that the OVP had spent P125 billion of its confidential fund.

On Tuesday, the OVP responded to criticisms from ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro. Castro had raised concerns about the OVP after the COA findings that the Office failed to follow procurement procedures.

COA also found that the OVP trimmed its social subsidies.

“The decrease in the amount of Financial Assistance/Subsidy from Fiscal Year 2021 to Fiscal Year 2022  was due to a lower amount of budget/appropriation under the 2022 General Appropriations Act, in view of the anticipated election ban and transition in 2022,” explained the OVP.

The OVP’s confidential fund had garnered criticism while it was being deliberated upon in Congress in 2022, with Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel expressing concern that the OVP may be duplicating the functions of other agencies.

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