₱4.55 Billion Confidential & Intelligence Funds Sought by Office of the President
CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS – The Office of the President (OP) is seeking a combined ₱4.55 billion in confidential and intelligence funds for 2027, with the proposed allocation accounting for a significant portion of the agency’s overall budget request.
The matter was discussed during a recent hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations, where lawmakers examined the proposed spending program of the Office of the President. Based on a press release from the House of Representatives, the OP is proposing ₱2.25 billion for confidential expenses and another ₱2.3 billion for intelligence-related activities.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto explained the purpose of the confidential funds during the budget hearing.
“Number one, the President is the chief executive officer, the President is the head of state, so his first job is to ensure law and order, and diyan ginagamit yung confidential fund,” said Executive Secretary Ralph Recto in the hearing.
The proposed 2027 budget of the Office of the President is reportedly much smaller than the previous year’s request. Data published by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that the OP is asking for approximately ₱10.15 billion for 2027.
This is considerably lower than the amount sought in 2025 for the 2026 budget cycle. At that time, the Office of the President requested an estimated ₱27.32 billion in total funding. The agency also proposed ₱2.25 billion each for confidential and intelligence funds during that period.
Documents previously released by the DBM showed that the OP eventually received a combined ₱4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds for 2026. This made the Office of the President the government agency or office with the largest CIF allocation for that year.
The Department of National Defense (DND) ranked next, receiving ₱1.848 billion in confidential and intelligence funds.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman had also noted that several other executive offices were provided with billions of pesos in confidential funding.
The proposed 2027 allocations are expected to remain subject to congressional scrutiny as lawmakers continue reviewing the national government’s spending priorities and proposed budget for the coming year.
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