The Office of the President, Department of National Defense and House of Representatives ate up P8.98 billion or close to three-fourths of the confidential and intelligence funds of the national government in 2017.
Based on the 2017 annual financial report on the national government, the Commission on Audit said the expenditures from last year increased by P4.52 billion, or 101.78 percent, compared with the P4.44 billion incurred in 2016.
“Confidential, intelligence and extraordinary expenses totaling P8.98 billion represented 2.97 percent of the total [maintenance and other operating expenses],” COA said.
“This group of accounts posted an increase of P4.52 billion or 101.78 percent from the previous year’s P4.44 billion.”
The Office of the President spent P2.515 billion; the Defense department P2.222 billion and Congress P1.797 billion, with a total of P6.5 billion or 72.87 percent of the CIEF.
The rest of the CIEF at 27.13 percent went to the Department of the Interior and Local Government at P883.46 million, other executive offices at P434.716 million, Department of Justice at P346.372 million, the judiciary at P236.898 million, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P104.502 million, the Department of Finance at P77.243 million, the Department of Education at P47.643 million, and the other agencies at P301.632 million.
The Defense department’s Armed Forces of the Philippines attributed the increase to massive and extensive intelligence and counterintelligence activities in the war-torn Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
The Philippine National Police credited the use of its CIEF at P845.51 million to its intensified anti-drug drive.