Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s Office Not Asking for Confidential and Intel Funds for Next Year
SARA DUTERTE’S OFFICE – The Office of the Vice President did not request for any Confidential Funds for 2026.
The Congress is set to deliberate the national budget proposal crafted by the executive government for the year 2026. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already submitted the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the House of Representatives.
Following the remarks of Pres. Bongbong Marcos that he will not approve budget proposals that are not aligned to the plans of the government, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero stressed that the Congress still has the “power of the purse”. According to her, the Congress should not be just a “rubber stamp”.
The Senate Chief also expressed that Marcos Jr. should tell his Cabinet secretaries not to ask for additional funds once the DBM has submitted the NEP. According to him, the President’s Cabinet secretaries are allegedly asking for changes in the budget appropriations for their departments.
Following the submission of the NEP to the House of Representatives, Pres. Bongbong Marcos called on the Congress to “swiftly enact” the proposed 2026 budget. According to him, here are proposed budget for some of the key departments in the government:
- Department of Education (DepEd) — P928.5 billion
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — P881.3 billion
- Department of Health (DOH) — P320.5 billion
- Department of National Defense (DND) — P299.3 billion
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — P287.5 billion
- Department of Agriculture (DA) — P239.2 billion
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — P227.0 billion
- Department of Transportation (DOTr) — P197.3 billion
- Judiciary Department — P67.9 billion
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) — P55.2 billion
With regards to the Confidential and Intelligence Funds for the year 2026, the Department of Budget and Management said the CIF is cut by 11%. From P12.12 billion CIF last year, the proposed CIF for this year is P10.77 billion.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office refused to request for confidential and intel funds amid ongoing allegations of misused CIFs of the OVP and the Department of Education when she was still the DepEd secretary.
This year is the second time that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office did not ask for confidential and intel funds. Based on the report, out of the P10.77 billion CIF for 2026, P6.39-billion fund is intended for the intelligence expenses while the remaining P4.36 billion is for the confidential funds. The office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos remains to have the biggest share among the proposed confidential and intel funds for 2026.
- Office of the President — P4.5 billion CIF
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency — P1.141 billion CIF
- Department of National Defense — P1.848 billion CIF
- Other executive offices including the Anti-Money Laundering Council, National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police — P2.292 billion CIF
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office sought for a P903-million budget for 2026. However, aside from not asking for confidential and intelligence funds, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed she also expect budget cuts from the proposed fund of the OVP citing the Marcos administration.