SEN. Imee Marcos yesterday defended the grant of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) to the Office of the President (OP) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), saying the executive’s top two offices need the funding for information gathering.
In an interview with dzBB radio, Marcos said the use of CIFs is unique for each agency since only they who know where and how to use them, depending on their requirements.
“Ang confidential and intelligence funds eh talagang may gamit ‘yan lalo sa matataas na opisyal, lalo na sa military at police, kinakailangan talaga ‘yan. So, suriin natin maigi at huwag basta-basta tanggalin (Confidential and intelligence funds have specific use, especially for high officials, like in the military and police, they really need that. So, let us thoroughly examine it and not just remove it),” Marcos said.
Last week, a small committee of the House of Representatives stripped the OVP and other civilian agencies of their confidential funds and realigned these to agencies which are in the forefront of securing the country’s territory, especially in the West Philippines Sea.
The move came amid criticisms against the P500 million and P150 million secret funds requested by Vice President Sara Duterte’s office and the Department of Education (DepEd), respectively. The DepEd is headed by Duterte in a concurrent capacity.
Duterte has called critics of her offices’ confidential funds as “enemies of peace.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte has also defended his daughter for wanting to have confidential funds, saying she was planning on using the DepEd’s allocation to revive and strengthen the strengthen preparatory military training in high school “to instill a love for the country among the youth.”
He likewise accused Speaker Martin Romualdez of allegedly being behind the attacks against his daughter.
Marcos said the decision of the small House panel to strip the OVP and other civilian agencies of their confidential funds seemed to be “personal.”
“Sabi ko nga noon pa na may halong galit pero para hindi ko maintindihan kung sino ang nagmamadali. Malayo pa ang 2028, bakit binubugbog na ‘yung front runner, wika nga…
Hindi naman totally lahat politika, pero ‘yung tono kung misan sobrang galit, sobrang personal. Nakakaduda kasi kung talagang intel funds lang, eh di tanggalin, tapos. Eh marami pang salita, marami pang banta eh nahahaluan na ng kung anu-ano
(Like what I have been saying that there is so much hate. I cannot understand who is in a hurry. The 2028 election is still far and they are already ganging up on the ‘front runner’…It is not totally political, but the tone, at times, is full of hatred, too personal that its casts doubts. If intel funds are the issue, then just strip the agency and then shut up),” she said,
She noted that Vice President Duterte has already said that it is up to the discretion of Congress whether it grants her offices’ requests or not.
