Colmenares: Let’s double efforts to push for abolishing secret funds
MANILA, Philippines — For several years now, dating back to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have urged the government to stop the placement of huge confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) on civilian agencies.
With confidential funds now being assailed by other members of the Congress too, former lawmaker and current Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares has urged activists and concerned citizens to continue speaking out against the said secret allocations in the budget — as the end could be in sight.
“We are in the thick of the fight. The removal of confidential funds is already a big victory. We have raised this for so many years we only reached this status now. We are moving forward, and they are retreating,” Colmenares said in Filipino during the launch of the Abolish Confidential Funds Network on Wednesday, held at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman campus.
“We need to push some more. We should double our efforts to rally regarding our social media work, protest movements, and the launching of forums. Why do I think that we are nearing victory? Because in this issue, the people are our allies,” he added.
According to Colmenares, one of the things he learned from being a member of the House of Representatives is that lawmakers are sometimes forced to act against their wishes if the public supports a particular initiative.
Colmenares was Bayan Muna’s representative during the 15th, 16th, and 17th Congress.
“In my three terms at Congress, I learned a lesson there. Sometimes, Congress is forced to do something it does not want depending on how people outside its halls fight. That’s the lesson I picked up there,” he added.
During the program earlier, at least 15 civil society organization leaders called for the removal of confidential funds under different agencies, including the Office of the President (OP).
According to the signatories under the Abolish Confidential Funds Network, the use of such funds contradicts transparency since it would not be subjected to full auditing from the Commission on Audit.
“Mariin naming tinututulan itong lihim na paggamit ng pondo ng bayan. Ang ganitong tipo ng pork barrel funds na lump sum at discretionary ay ginagamit sa kwestyunableng layunin at paraan. Ni hindi ito dumadaan sa regular na audit ng Commission on Audit,” they added.
(We strongly oppose this way of using public funds. This kind of pork barrel, which is lump sum and discretionary, will be used for questionable goals and purposes. This will not even go through the regular audit of the Commission on Audit.)
After the deliberations on the proposed 2024 national budget at the House, the small committee tasked to resolve individual amendments formally removed P1.23 billion worth of confidential funds (CF) from different agencies and reallocated them to offices involved in securing the West Philippine Sea.
These are:
- Office of the Vice President (OVP): P500 million
- Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT): P300 million
- Department of Education (DepEd): P150 million
- Department of Justice (DOJ-Office of the Secretary): P88.65 million
- Office of the Ombudsman: P50.46 million
- Department of Agriculture (DA): P50 million
- Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA): P50 million
- Bureau of Customs (BOC): P30.5 million
- Office of the Solicitor General (OSG): P9.2 million
- Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU): P6 million
- Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC): P2.5 million
Of these agencies, OVP, DICT, DepEd, DA, and DFA received zero CF allocation.
READ: How House removed, reduced the confidential funds of gov’t agencies
Still, Colmenares maintains that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s office, too should shed its CFs.
“One of the biggest civilian government agencies with a big confidential fund is OP: the CIF of President Marcos Jr. amounts to P4.5 billion — what is his right to do this?” he asked.
READ: COA: Office of the President highest spender of intel, secret funds in 2022
“Does he need to do surveillance or intelligence? Then direct the AFP; order the PNP, NBI, and other police bodies there. OP cannot claim that they have a military function: the OP is a civilian agency because the President was not appointed as a general, not appointed as a commander-in-chief, he was elected,” he added.
But Colmenares reminded the public that the fight is not over yet, as the budget discussions would shift to the Senate.
After the Senate finishes its own version of the General Appropriations Bill, select members of the two chambers of Congress would convene to thresh out differences.
“Congress would not budge if the people’s clamor is strong. That’s why we are in this chapter, where we will end the use of confidential funds within civilian agencies. Not in 2025; not in 2024, but now, we will end their confidential funds,” he said.
