Enough of confidential fund spree – teachers

MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Sunday called on the government to stop the confidential fund “spree” that it fears has become a tradition in the Philippine budget system that has been depriving Filipinos of better living conditions.

ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said now that Congress plans to realign the confidential funds of multiple government agencies toward national security, lawmakers should ensure that the confidential funds of agencies that have nothing to do with national security would be realigned to public services.

“The heaps of intelligence funds and confidential funds allocated for agencies that have nothing to do with ensuring national security should be channeled into basic services budgets. While our public services are suffering, those with access to confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) are enjoying money that could be better spent by the people,” Quetua said in a statement.

About 10 government agencies, including the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, are expected to be affected by the House of Representatives’ plan to realign confidential funds to national security agencies amid China’s continued aggressive acts inside Philippine territory in the West Philippine Sea.

Quetua also lamented recent findings that Davao City appeared to be the biggest spender of confidential funds among the country’s cities and municipalities between 2016 and 2022 when it was still under mayor Sara Duterte, now the vice president and education secretary.

“The P2.697 billion confidential fund expended by VP Sara Duterte when she was the mayor of Davao City could have given 77,000 teachers additional P5,000 cash allowance yearly in six years, or the P385 million per year could have built 154 new classrooms – or 924 new classrooms in six years,” he said.

“If the P385 million spent per year – or P2.697 billion within six years – were given to the education sector, DepEd would have already procured a lot of educational and teaching equipment. Just like laptops, that amount is equivalent to 11,332 laptops,” Quetua added.

ACT said that Duterte’s involvement in the confidential fund-spending controversies was