President Marcos confidential funds can’t be sky’s the limit’

MANILA, Philippines — While he favors giving confidential funds to President Marcos, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel maintained the allocation should be reasonable and not “sky’s the limit.”

“When it comes to the confi funds, of course, that’s his flexibility fund, we will allow that, but within reason,” Pimentel said in an interview on dzBB.

Under the proposed 2024 P5.768 trillion national budget, the Office of the President (OP) requests P2.31 billion in intelligence funds and P2.25 billion in confidential funds.

Pimentel said the confidential fund requested by the OP is too huge as he suggested cutting the amount and making it really reasonable.

“That’s a lot of money. What the Marcos administration did was that they maintained the level of the Duterte administration without any issues. Too much,” said Pimentel.

“He should show a patriotic act, he should lower the confidential fund level. That (intelligence fund) is different. When it comes to the intelligence fund, the President should be briefed by our intel agencies,” he said.

The House Committee on Appropriations reached a “unanimous decision” to “remove or realign the controversial confidential funds” in the proposed 2024 national budget for the five agencies: the Office of the Vice President, Department of Education, Department Of Information And Communications Technology, Department of Agriculture and Department of Foreign Affairs. The agencies will instead receive a certain amount for “maintenance and other operating expenses.”