MANILA — In a notable shift in fiscal policy, the Philippine government plans to cut the confidential and intelligence funds allocated to various government agencies by 16 percent for the fiscal year 2025, lowering the total from PHP12.3 billion in 2024 to PHP10.286 billion next year, as announced by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the reduction reflects a targeted approach to funding, ensuring that only departments and agencies with genuine needs for confidential and intelligence activities receive the necessary allocations. This strategic distribution aligns with a 2015 DBM-Commission on Audit (COA) Joint Circular, which stipulates that confidential expenses should support surveillance activities in civilian agencies, and intelligence expenses should fund information-gathering by uniformed and military personnel critical to national security.
The DBM detailed that the Department of National Defense (DND) would receive the largest portion of these funds, amounting to approximately PHP1.8 billion. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is set to get PHP906 million; of this, PHP806 million is earmarked for the Philippine National Police (PNP) and PHP100 million for the DILG's Office of the Secretary. Additionally, the Philippine Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Transportation, will receive about PHP400 million.
Further allocations include PHP579.4 million to the Department of Justice (DOJ), with PHP364.8 million directed to the DOJ's Office of the Secretary, PHP175.4 million to the National Bureau of Investigation, PHP20 million to the Bureau of Immigration, and PHP19.2 million to the Office of the Solicitor General. Other executive offices, such as the National Security Council, the Department of Finance, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, will also receive parts of these funds.
Moreover, the Office of the Ombudsman, the COA, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, and the Commission on Human Rights are slated to receive allocations from these confidential and intelligence budgets, reinforcing the government's commitment to various critical areas of governance.