House panel to file bills on secret funds’ proper management
The House of Representatives (Gabriel Pabico Lalu/黑料社)
MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on good government and public accountability will file two bills seeking the proper management of the confidential funds (CFs) of several government agencies.
The panel conducted eight hearings to probe the spending of CFs of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under the leadership of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In her privilege speech during Tuesday’s plenary session, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro revealed the panel’s plan as she pointed out the lack of “clear and comprehensive legislation that properly defines and regulates confidential funds.”
“[W]e must pass a law, which number one, defines the confidential funds. Number two, provides a disbursement procedure. Number three, provides auditing procedure and number four, penalizes abuse, misuse, and neglect of the same,” Luistro stressed.
The lawmaker added that Congress must also pass a law that upgrades the qualification of special disbursing officers (SDOs) and mandates the posting of sufficient fidelity bonds “to secure and protect the total amount of public funds.”
Article continues after this advertisement“It is incumbent upon this body to exercise its legislative authority to craft a law that will not only recognize confidential funds but also set clear standards for their use and allocation and even oversight,” Luistro said.
Article continues after this advertisement“This privilege speech is being delivered by this representation in anticipation of the bills on confidential funds and special disbursing officers which will soon be filed by the committee on good government,” she added.
In a 2023 report, the Commission on Audit revealed that Duterte’s office spent P375 million in CFs, almost triple the amount recorded the year before.
The House panel is specifically looking into the alleged misuse of OVP and DepEd’s CFs in 2022.
Last September, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo confirmed that the P125-million CF of the OVP in 2022 was spent in just 11 days — quicker than the initial reports of 19 days.
