Reevaluate, Reduce, and Reallocate

by Gabriel Paul A. Tesoro

The proposed high-valued allocation of Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIFs) to a

few National Government Agencies (NGA) without the primary task of mandating peace and order
is not socially just due to the uncertainty and unnecessary CIF usage to their offices. It should be
reduced or deleted because there is no specific appropriation of CIF usage regarding the
programs under those agencies resulting in the reallocation of those funds to the executive
departments' programs for better budget distribution.
The terms of the CIF were stated in the Joint Circular No. 2015-01 (Commission on Audit,
2015) that it is eligible through Peace and Order Programs (POP) mainly connected to crime
prevention, development of personnel in law enforcement agencies, and cases of illegal activities.
From the perspective of the Senate majority block, the proposed CIF allocation is necessary
because it maintains the peace and order of the Office of the President (OP) and Vice President
(OVP); however, it should not be that high.
The majority's decision towards CIF intercorrelates with the ethical implications of Egoism
and Altruism to the extent that it helps the receiver of the Confidential Funds (CF) and Intelligence
Funds (IF) accumulate the said budget for "peace and order." Also, there are inclinations to
support implementing the proposed CIF allocation to OP and OVP because the majority block
has a close relationship with the higher offices.
Moreover, the OVP does not hold any entitlement to be given CF because its nature of
service is not focused on maintaining POP. Concerning the statement, Senate Minority Leader
Koko Pimentel III stressed that he would delete confidential funds for the OVP at a proper time
because it is excessive and unnecessary.
The action of Pimentel on the budget describes the Golden Mean of Virtue Ethics, which
corresponds to the point between the two extremes. A person like him is courageous because he
knows when to oppose the proposition of excessive and misuse of CIF as he knows it is not the
proper time to propose such a budget. More so, he is correct because the budget should focus
more on the critical things that can benefit the country's citizens, especially during the inflation
hike and surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed 2023 national budget is not for the
perusal of one's goal, hence should be used for the goodness of the public's demands.
In addition, reallocating the funds to other executive department programs should be
practiced. Reducing and reallocating the funds originally for the CIF of the OP and OVP is needed
to attain the Greatest Happiness Principle of Utilitarianism, which is to use the budget for the
benefit of taxpayers. The role of Utilitarianism greatly determines the moral action of CIF usage
by focusing on its outcomes, including what positively affects long-term solutions to problems.
The budget can be allocated to the Department of Agriculture (DA) because it needs
funding for its programs. The increase of funds in DA can support the completion, restoration, and
implementation of some agricultural programs that various Filipino scientists and entrepreneurs
have started. Training, soil management, research, agribusiness, and irrigation services for our
farmers still need to be implemented due to the government's lack of financial support.
Therefore, the ethical implications discussed were the explanation to help further describe
my point that the budget should not be used for safeguarding one person but the majority who
contributed to the accumulation of the proposed budget. Proposing excessive CIF for NGAs
without the primary task of supervising POP is unnecessary because there are no specifications
of the CIF usage on the programs governing those agencies. The uncertainty and unnecessary
CIF usage on those NGAs are a waste of budget allocation, so the Senate should reduce or delete
the proposed CIF of the OP and OVP and reallocate those to executive departmental programs
to justify the use of the budget for the benefit of Filipino citizens.

Reference:
Commission on Audit. (2015). Joint Circular No. 205-01. https://www.coa.gov.ph/wpfd_file/coa-
dbm-dilg-gcg-for-goccs-dnd-joint-circular-no-2015-01-january-8-2015/
Fernandez, D. (2022, November). Pimentel to request deletion of secret, intelligence funds of OP,
OVP “at proper time.” INQUIRER.net; INQUIRER.net.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1693000/pimentel-to-request-deletion-of-secret-intelligence-
funds-of-op-ovp-at-proper-time#ixzz7kbgwq8GL