OP is top spender of confidential, intel funds in 2023

The Office of the President (OP) under President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. was the top spender of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) in 2023, with a combined P4.57 billion, a slight increase from P4.51 billion in 2022.

The OP's spending included P2.2 billion for confidential expenses, P2.3 billion for intelligence expenses, and over P10 million for extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses.

Confidential expenses support surveillance activities in civilian government agencies, while intelligence expenses are for information gathering impacting national security.

The Justice Department ranked second in confidential fund spending with P683,853,000, followed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with P500 million.

The Office of the Vice-President spent P375 million in confidential expenses in 2023, nearly tripling its spending from the prior year.

A minority lawmaker stated that the House of Representatives is open to investigating the OP's secret expenses if a resolution or privilege speech is filed concerning their use.