VERA Files
Mali ang pahayag ni Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri noong Nob. 7 na maaaring gamitin ang confidential funds sa pagkukumpuni ng mga silid-aralan.
A 2015 Commission on Audit (COA) set of guidelines defines confidential expenses as lump sum amounts for “surveillance activities in civilian government agencies.” It categorically states that “in no case shall (confidential or intelligence funds) be used for … construction or acquisition of buildings or housing structures.”
Inaprubahan ng Senado noong Nob. 23 ang panukalang P5.27 trillion na pambansang budget para sa 2023. Ni-realign nito ang hindi bababa sa P170 milyon na confidential na pondo ng iba’t ibang ahensya ng gobyerno sa kanilang maintenance at iba pang operating expenses.
What are confidential and intelligence funds? For what can these be used?
The government’s proposed national budget for 2023 is heavy with confidential and intelligence funds, but it is bereft of amounts needed to produce intelligent students, provide roofs for the homeless and pay for health workers’ benefits.