Senate to scrutinize intel funds

THE Senate begins the period of amendments Monday for the proposed P5.268-trillion National Expenditure Program of 2023, with confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) to get the most scrutiny.

Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Committee on Finance chairman, said in a radio interview that disagreements will be resolved through nominal voting.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel earlier warned that he will block the “enormous” CIF allocation of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Department of Education (DepEd) and Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), all of which did not secure such funds this year.

The OVP asked for P500 million; DepEd, P150 million; and the OSG, P19.2 million for their CIFs.

Angara said he sees nothing wrong with the P9.3 billion CIFs because they are necessary for the agencies’ needs but acknowledged there must be a consensus among his colleagues.

“Pag-aralan natin kasi hindi naman maganda na tanggalin natin ang sa OVP, eh ipinagkatiwala sa kanya ng Pangulo. Dahil gusto niyang magtagumpay si VP, kaya sa kanya pinagkatiwala ang DepEd, dahil diyan nakasalalay ang kinabukasan ng ating kabataan (We will study the funds. The President trusted the OVP with the budget, he wants the VP to succeed in the DepEd. This is for our youth’s future),” he said, referring to Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte.

Angara said the proposed 2023 budget is focused on economic recovery as the country tries to get over the slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict which contributed to rising oil prices.

He assured continuous financial aid for targeted sectors such as agriculture, education, transportation, and tourism, free rides and fuel subsidies.

“Lahat ‘yan ay may mga pondo na at ipapatupad agad pagpasok ng (The programs are funded and will be implemented right away in) 2023,” Angara said.