Public pushback vs Sara’s confidential funds kept it out of 2024 budget — Senate finance panel chair

MANILA, Philippines — Public sentiment against the confidential and intelligence funds under Vice President Sara Duterte influenced the decision of lawmakers to keep the controversial secret fund out of the proposed 2024 national budget, the Senate finance committee chairperson said on Monday.

Sen. Sonny Angara said no lawmaker sought to restore the secret lump sum — around P650 million combined for both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) — during the closed-door meetings of the bicameral conference, where budget changes are typically less scrutinized.

“It's also a reading of the public opinion, (and) the public opinion wanted greater transparency on the budget,” Angara said in an interview with ANC’s Headstart on Monday.

The senator added that while he has seen the reports detailing the confidential expenses of Duterte’s offices, he admitted that these expenses “are not necessarily the most transparent because they undergo special audits.”

“Number one, it’s a reading of the public pulse. But also because the vice president said she is not pursuing it. That statement cleared up that issue,” Angara added.

The final Congress-approved version of the 2024 General Appropriations Bill —- which is being eyed for the president’s signature this week — did not allocate confidential and intelligence funds for all civilian or non-security agencies, including the OVP and DepEd.

Controversy over the secret lump sum began after Makabayan bloc lawmakers sought to question Duterte about the P125 million in confidential expenses of the OVP in 2022 during budget deliberations at the House of Representatives. 

While initially less forthcoming, Duterte was pressed to share details about the confidential expenses of the OVP at the upper chamber upon the prompt of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, saying that it is used for her office’s various projects, programs and activities.

RELATED: From feeding programs to tree planting, Sara says confidential funds used across the board 

Backlash from the controversy led the vice president to eventually drop her request for the controversial fund by November, days after senators “unanimously” agreed to remove the confidential and intelligence funds from all civilian agencies.

Before Duterte withdrew the request, she branded critics of confidential funds as “enemies of the people” due to its supposed necessity for peace and security — a statement issued days after the House started its process of realigning the controversial fund.

A Pulse Asia survey conducted amid public clamor against the government’s widespread use of confidential funds also registered double-digit drops in the trust and approval ratings for Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

RELATED: Marcos, Duterte see double-digit drop in approval and trust ratings in September 

The proposed P5.67 trillion budget for 2024 is set to be signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this week, House Speaker Martin Romualdez told reporters on Wednesday.