Funding Priorities

The Department of Health suffered a P10-billion cut in its proposed budget for 2024, apart from a P2-billion reduction in the funding for the Philippine General Hospital and another P1.7 billion for DOH-run specialty hospitals.

In the education sector, 36 state colleges and universities saw P6.1 billion slashed from their proposed budget. In a statement, the presidents of the SUCs lamented that for a long time now, higher education in the Philippines “has been in crisis.” What they need, they said, is a higher appropriation instead of a multibillion-peso reduction.

Most of the funding cuts, the SUC presidents pointed out, “were focused on budgets for capital outlay, which includes facilities, equipment, and other investments that will serve these institutions for periods longer than the next fiscal year.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives committee on appropriations recently approved the P10.14 billion in confidential and intelligence funds requested by executive agencies. Since 2016, the number of agencies seeking CIF has risen from 21 to the current 28.

I’m math-challenged, but I didn’t do too badly in university economics. I’m aware of the acute inadequacy of resources in certain sectors particularly public health and education. And I’m befuddled by the funding priorities in a government that’s strapped for cash and saddled with a P14.15-trillion debt as of end-June this year.

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According to the Department of Budget and Management, of the P10.14 billion requested by the executive branch, P4.5 billion will be allocated to the Office of the President (P2.25 billion confidential and P2.31 billion intelligence funding) while P500 million will go to the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

When the new government took over last year, President Marcos approved the transfer of P125 million from the national contingency fund to the OVP – an appropriation that was not in the 2022 budget proposed in 2021 for the OVP by Leni Robredo when she was the vice president.

As disclosed last Monday by Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chair of the House appropriations committee, a Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that Robredo’s successor in the OVP, Sara Duterte, spent the P125 million within just 11 days in December last year.

Critics asked if the funds were spent for Christmas gift-giving or victory parties. Malacañang said the funds went to OVP satellite offices, but did not go into specifics.

Yesterday, it was learned from Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman that Duterte had written Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman in August last year, requesting P250 million in confidential funds plus “augmentation” in the VP’s 2022 budget.

The proposed “augmentation” consisted of P144 million for medical assistance subsidies released by the OVP’s satellite offices, plus P8.74 million for special duty allowances of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group – a much expanded security contingent since Robredo’s VP days.

As defined in a COA circular, confidential funds are allocations used by civilian government agencies for surveillance activities that support their mandate. Intelligence funds, meanwhile, are used by military and other uniformed personnel as well as intelligence operatives in gathering information related to national security and law enforcement.

Quimbo had defended the fund transfer to the OVP as legit, so it’s intriguing that she was the one (as sponsor of the COA budget proposal) who revealed that the P125 million was used up in 11 days instead of 19 as originally reported by party-list lawmakers.

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Few people will quibble with the need for confidentiality in the utilization of intel funds for the military, police and other agencies with law enforcement functions.

The debates revolve mostly around civilian agencies whose heads want to be entrusted with a blank check in using public funds.

Our law enforcement agencies are woefully undermanned and underequipped, so I can see the logic in allowing certain agencies to directly handle their security concerns, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, which must confront rapidly evolving cyber threats.

Even VP Sara might be able to convincingly defend her need for P500 million in confidential funds for the OVP plus P150 million for DepEd. She has said she would defer to Congress on the issue.

Considering the magnitude of the corruption problem in our country, however, confidential funding must be allowed with utmost prudence. And Congress must implement a credible system of oversight to ensure the judicious use of CIF.

About a third of personal income automatically goes to the government. This is apart from the value-added and excise taxes automatically collected by the government for nearly all commodities and services in this country.

Government officials owe it to their bosses – we the people, we the taxpayers – to give a proper accounting of how they spend our hard-earned money.

Most people are aware that there are so many other sectors that can use additional funding. Anyone who has ever waited in line for an entire day to access services in a government hospital will understand the problem. We are losing so many health professionals because we can’t give them decent pay. Free tuition from kindergarten to college has not translated into quality education, and might have even contributed to its deterioration. The agriculture sector is a national disaster. Anti-poverty programs can always use more funding.

Congress is reportedly considering reviving an oversight committee on CIF utilization. There’s skepticism that politicians can do the job with credibility, but perhaps some lawmakers can surprise the people.