Survey: CIF must go to intelligence, surveillance, defense agencies only

A clear majority of Filipinos believe confidential funds should be allocated only to government agencies that are directly involved in intelligence gathering, surveillance and in the development of defense capability of the Philippines.

In a third quarter survey by The Issues and Advocacy Center (The CENTER), some 52 percent said only government agencies performing functions relevant to the country’s security should get confidential funds.

Only 21 percent said they were in favor of confidential funds finding its way to civilian offices of the government while 15 percent said they are moderately in favor.

Meanwhile, views among senators on the use of confidential funds will have to be reconciled before the Senate follows the House lead to redistribute them to agencies directly involved in national security, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said Wednesday.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday announced that some civilian agencies—including the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture—would be stripped of their confidential funds.

But the Senate is far from reaching a similar agreement, Angara said.

“Each senator has his own opinion. Some want to remove the confidential funds; others want them reduced. Still others want them to say, so we have to reach a consensus,” Angara said in a mix of Filipino and English at a briefing Tuesday.

He said such matters are usually discussed in caucus before they are brought to the plenary floor.

Angara said that discussion on confidential funds will have to be done “agency by agency” and that the Senate must agree on standards it will use before granting them.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, assured the public that senators will ensure that the 2024 national budget will be a well-examined one.

“We will scrutinize everything to ensure that we are all proud of the national budget that we will pass before the end of the year,” Villanueva said.

“We will respect each other’s positions, hear their proposals and we [will] decide as an institution,” he said.

Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, said he would push for the retention — and even an increase — in the confidential