
OVP, DepEd, other agencies get ‘zero’ confidential funds
THE Office of the Vice President and the Departments of Education (DepEd), Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Agriculture (DA) and Foreign Affairs (DFA) are getting ‘zero’ confidential funds under the 2024 General Appropria1ons Bill (GAB), the small panel led by House committee in appropriations chairman and Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co said Tuesday.
Instead, the small panel said the bulk of the funding will be channeled to agencies in charge of ensuring national security especially in the West Philippine Sea.
As in the past, the House of Representatives is also getting zero confidential funds, the small committee tasked by the House plenary to introduce institutional and individual amendments to the 2024 GAB announced.
Based on the panel’s recommendation a total of P1.23-billion in confidential funds were realigned to the following frontline agencies in charge of monitoring and protecting the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea:
– P300-million for National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA);
– P100-million for the National Security Council (NSC);
– P200-million to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for intelligence activities and ammunition; and
– P381.8-million to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the development/ expansion of Pag-asa Island Airport. [The amount allocated from the confidential funds is only part of the P3-billion total funding for the project.
Meanwhile, instead of confidential funds, the following agencies will receive the following amounts for Maintenance and Other Opera1ng Expenses (MOOE)
– P30-million for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR);
– P25-million for DICT;
– P30-million for DFA;
– P50-million for the Office of the Ombudsman; and
– P150-million for DepEd’s Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE)
“Responding to the call of the times and the volatile situation in the West Philippine Sea, the small committee– as mandated by the House Plenary – has decided to realign CIFs to agencies whose principal mandate is to gather intelligence and ensure the protection of our national sovereignty,” Co said.
“We considered the mandate of the agencies since confidential funds are intended for surveillance activities in the performance of the agency’s principal functions. We also looked at the previous year’s budget and utilization levels before coming up with a decision,” House committee on appropriations senior vice chairperson and Marikina City Rep. Stella A. Quimbo said.
But more than the CIF realignment, Co stressed that amendments introduced in the 2024 GAB totaling P194-billion were designed to fight inflation and invest in people and the country’s future.
To enhance food production and combat inflation, especially the high cost of rice, the small committee made the following changes to the 2024 proposed budget:
– P20-billion to DA for the rice subsidy program, to help sell rice at subsidized prices;
– P40-billion to the National Irrigation Administra1on (NIA) to install solar-driven irrigation pumps and subsidize communal irrigation;
– P2-billion to the Philippine Coconut Authority for massive planting/replanting of seedlings;
– P1.5-billion for vaccines against the African Swine Fever (ASF)
– P1-billion to the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority to construct fishery and post-harvest facilities in Palawan and Kalayaan Group of Islands;
To invest in people and the country’s future, funds were also allocated to the following:
– P43.9-billion to DOH for Medical Assistance to Indigent Pa1ents (MAIP); legacy and specialty hospitals; cancer assistance; communicable diseases program; and health facility enhancement;
– P1-billion to UP Philippine General Hospital for MAIP;
– P35-billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD)Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and Sustainable Livelihood Program;
– P17.5-billion to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the TUPAD program or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa a1ng Disadvantage/Displaced Workers/ Government Internship Program;
– P10.4-billion for the DOLE-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Training for Work Scholarship Program; and
– P17.1-billion for the Commission on Higher Education’s CHED) Tertiary Education Subsidy and Tulong Dunong Program.