Office of the President budget defended
THE proposed budget for the Office of the President (OP) would fund programs and activities to navigate the country out of the devastation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the assurance made by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, the sponsor of the proposed 2023 budget of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, pegged at P9.031 billion.
This is part of the whole national budget amounting to P5.268 trillion.
The House of Representatives has terminated the deliberation of the said budget after Tiangco answered all the questions including the controversial P2.25-billion Confidential Fund (CF) and P2.25-billion Intelligence Fund (IF).
According to Tiangco, the OP’s budget would increase in 2023 due to more meetings, presidential public engagements, and official visits, among others, that were relatively limited during the health crisis.
He assured that every item in the proposed funding is “needed and reasonable in order to best serve the interest of the Filipino people.”
Just recently, Marcos had his first state visits in Indonesia and Singapore and a working visit in the United States attending the 77th United National General Assembly.
On the question of Act Teachers about the CF and IF, Tiangco said these funds play a vital and central role in national security management.
He vowed that the OP would definitely comply with Joint Circular 2015-01 on the CF and IF, as well as assured its submission of the Physical and Financial Plan required under the same circular.
The OP proposed budget is P796.2 million higher than its 2022 budget of P8.235-billion.
