Government’s confidential, intelligence spending in 2023 exceeds P10B for the first time 

MANILA, Philippines – For the first time in history, the Philippine government in 2023 spent over P10 billion of intelligence and confidential funds in a single year.

This “record-breaking feat” was duly noted in the 2023 Annual Financial Report on National Government Agencies released by the Commission on Audit on December 2, 2024.

COA’s 511-page report said national government agencies recorded P6.028 billion in intelligence expenses and P4.415 billion consumed on confidential activities for a total of an unprecedented P10.443 billion spent on these two activities.

This was the first time total confidential and intelligence expenses (CIE) breached the P10 billion mark.

The 2023 CIE was P685.65 million higher than 2022’s P9.757 billion CIE.

The second highest total CIE in a year was recorded in 2021, when in its last full year, the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte spent P9.786 billion.

The Office of the President, headed by the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, spent P2.25 billion confidential fund (50.96% of the total) and P2.31 billion intelligence fund (38.32% of the total) last year.

Other top users of the CIE were:

• General Headquarters-Armed Forces of the Philippines (GHQ-AFP) – P1.735 billion,
• Philippine National Police (PNP) – P936.6 million,
• National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) – P444 million
• Philippine Army – P444 million.

The CIE of these national government agencies have traditionally been extended budgets every year because of the nature of their work in law enforcement and the country’s security

However, despite their involvement in security duties the following reported using less CIE. These are the Philippine Air Force (P17 million), the Philippine Navy (P40.42 million), and Philippine Coast Guard (P10 million.

Agencies not directly involved in security but have a big share of the CIE were:

• Office of the Justice Secretary – P522.69 million
• Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) – P500 million, and
• Office of the Vice President (OVP) – P375 million.

The two Houses of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate — were not allocated with CIE in 2023.

Based on the breakdown of confidential spending in the 2023 AFR for National Government Agencies, the OVP spent more than the was bigger than the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (P127.4 million), the National Security Council (P90 million), and the National Bureau of Investigation (P146.17 million) combined.   – Rappler.com