EDITORIAL
Enemies of the people
Those who oppose confidential funds are “enemies of the people.”
Critics call it “classic gaslighting.” These are the heated exchanges of words
that dominate the airwaves, headlines of newspapers, and social media
after Vice President Sara Duterte spewed invective against her critics.
Using her father’s antics, Duterte said in a gathering of policemen
that anyone who attacks or undermines funds allocated for peace and
order is naturally assumed to have insidious motivations.
When the Supreme Court declared the PDAF or the pork barrel
unconstitutional, we thought that was the end of big-time corruption. But
we were wrong. Like Morpheus, the Greek God of dreams and nightmares,
corruption has the god Morpheus’ skill of transforming himself to deceive
even the most discerning person.
After the death of PDAF, the use of confidential and intelligence funds
(CIF) for civilian agencies of the government has become the latest fad of
corruption. Rappler.com reported that from 21 agencies in 2016, the
number of agencies and departments with confidential funds in their
budget has grown to 28 under the 2024 budget. The latest to ride on the
bandwagon is the Marcos-led Department of Agriculture, which requested
P50 million in confidential funds for 2024. This does not include the LGUs
yet.
While confidential and intelligence funds are subject to audit by COA,
Joint Circular No. 2015-01dons the veil of secrecy regarding its utilization,
the heads of agencies who approve its release and direct the supposed
surveillance and other activities have the power to classify the information
reflected on the required status reports for the protection of classified
information from unauthorized disclosure.
The use of cash advances and disbursements of the CIF is audited by
COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Unit (ICFAU). However, the
audit procedure is crafted intentionally to be half-blind and superficial to
protect the secrecy of information.
Secrecy breeds corruption. While the CIF is intended to quell the
“enemies of the people,” it has created a black hole that consumes public
funds, depriving us of the government services we deserve.