REMOVAL OF CONFIDENTIAL FUND OF DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION IN 2024 GENERAL
Act. TheAPPROPRIATION
funds that will be given to the BILL
INTRODUCTION
Confidential funds are important component of the budget
allocation in the Philippines, designated for sensitive and
private government activities, including national security,
intelligence gathering, legal enforcement, and convert
operations. In recent times, allocation and misuse of
confidential funds have been a matter of discussion in the
Philippines, with reports of fund allocation and spending
by various government offices, including the offices of
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara
Duterte. The 2024 General Appropriation Bills (GAB)
propose the removal of confidential funds that were
allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd). While
confidentiality is related to security and efficiency, it is
important to consider the possible benefits of greater
transparency within the education sector.
The confidential fund of the Department of Education in
2024 General Appropriation Bill should be removed,
emphasizing transparency, accountability, and
responsible financial management as key consideration
and the importance of dividing the confidential funds of
the department of education to many agencies.
FOR THE FILIPINOS’ SAFETY
We believe that education is significant, but for the
Filipinos’ safety, we must give the DepEd’s funds to other
agencies, such as the Philippine Coast Guard, to ensure our
security in order for their equipment to increase and
improve because of the recent issue about Philippine-China
relations and the growing territorial issues between the
Philippines and China, as mentioned by the Foreign Service
Institute (FSI). The proposed plan for the general
appropriation bill 2024, which is the removal of
confidential funds from the Department of Education
(DepEd), says that the Department of Education will get
zero confidential funds, for they must be given to the
Philippine Coast Guard to help ensure the national security
and protection of the country's territorial rights in the West
Philippine Sea (Cervantes, 2023). Moreover, according to
House appropriations committee chair Elizaldy Co (2023),
the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Department of
Education (DepEd), Department of Agriculture (DA),
Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT), and the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) will get "zero" confidential funds under the proposed
spending plan for next year. Furthermore, he also said that
23 billion dollars’ worth of confidential funds will be
realigned to the frontline agencies in charge of ensuring
national security and protecting the country's territorial
rights in the West Philippine Sea. In addition, as mentioned
by the Office of the President (2023), they need the funds,
especially since these times are very uncertain, with wars
happening and many incidents of terrorism, hijacking, and
kidnapping. Therefore, the funds that came from the
Department of Education that will be removed for the next
year's (2024) proposed spending plan will be given to the
private security agencies, which will be managed by the
Office of the President under RA 5487, which does not have
any specific agencies. It shall be known as the "Private
Security Agency Law" under Section 1, Short Title of the
private security
agencies
will help them tighten the security needed here in the
Philippines a midst the incidents (R.A. 5487, 2023).
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S SECRETARY SPENT A
LOT OF MONEY FROM THE CONFIDENTIAL FUND.
The Philippines’ Vice President and the DepEd’s Secretary,
Inday Sara Duterte spent too much of the confidential
funds allotted for the DepEd only, therefore, instead of
focusing only to the Department of Education, the fund
should be divided accordingly to other agencies such as the
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the
National Security Agency (NSA), the Philippine Coast Guard
Agency (PCG), the Department of Transportation (DOTr),
the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR),
Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),
and the Office of the Ombudsman. The confidential funds
under the Department of Education have been allocated to
"zero confidential funds" under the 2024 General
Appropriations Bill (GAB), said Marikina Rep. Stella
Quimbo, Quimbo said that instead of confidential funds,
the abovementioned agencies will receive allocations of
maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
Furthermore, she added that the following agencies and
DepEd's aid to private school students and teachers will
receive MOOE funding next year instead of secret funds.
Included allocations for government programmes for
agriculture, health, and education (Mantaring, 2023). The
statement above is coherent. We agree with what Marikina
Rep. Stella Quimbo said, because those agencies
mentioned above needed it to monitor and protect the
country's territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea. On
the other hand, the agencies she added, such as DICT,
which recently experienced a dark web attack where
millions of PhilHealth members have been affected, really
needed the allocation to support the financial needs of
investigating the incident and for cybersecurity. These
reasons show how the removal of confidential funds from
the Department of Education in the 2024 General
Appropriation Bill must be implemented, for it is more
significant to other agencies to have it. Although
confidential funds will be removed, education is still given
importance, it is also more beneficial to the educators
because other agencies are also focusing on maintaining
the needs of the
school (Mantaring, 2023).
COUNTERARGUMENT
Education is very important, therefore, the confidential
fund for the Department of Education shouldn’t be
removed, as it helps the students’ necessity in school.
If the confidential fund will be removed, there are many
agencies in the Philippines that would get affected, such as
the Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),
and Department of Agriculture (DA) which are responsible
for the planning, development and promotion of the BIBLIOGRAPHY
country's information and communications technology, the
enhancement of national security, protection of the The House removes P1.23B in confidential funds of civilian
territorial integrity and national sovereignty, providing the agencies. (2023). @Pnagovph:
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211510
policy framework, public investments, and support services
needed for domestic and export-oriented business R.A.5487. (2023). Lawphil.net:
enterprises (Lalu, 2023). https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1969/ra_5487_1969
.html
The removal of confidential funds may have a negative
effect on public school teachers and students, leading to
more difficulties, fewer resources, and general difficulty in
Mantaring (2023). Zero confidential funds in 2024 budget
the educational system. It is possible for teachers to have
for OVP, DepEd, DICT, DA, DFA. CNN Philippines:
limited opportunities for professional development and for https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/10/10/civilian
students to not have access to necessary resources or -agencies-zero-confidential-funds-2024-budget.html?
support services. It is important to consider the specific fbclid=IwAR1_dPsGvJT9owL0PhMPH7j7wlWxOwfiMu2gnPI
allocation and purpose of the confidential fund to evaluate LDJ7pBplFEh1Bw749vgY#google_v ignette
the possible outcomes. Furthermore, the Department of
Education (DepEd) is in a unique position to recognize and
disclose possible security risks, especially those that include
Lalu (2013). The House gives zero confidential funds to OVP,
extremism and recruiting within the educational system.
DepEd, DICT, DFA, DA. Inquirer:
The use of confidential funds enables covert investigations https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1843768/house-gives-zero-
and informant networks, both of which are essential for confidential-funds-for-ovp-deped-dict-dfa-da?
stopping these kinds of dangers before they get worse. If fbclid=IwAR0nBojl_IRaYo84yayDZ3n3_13v0sqGbh6NbZB0l9
this funding is taken away, our schools might become rw-7lqZbkbXNiJhfQ#ixzz8Kud1nlp5
vulnerable. According to Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, the
confidential fund (CF) of the Department of Education
(DepEd) will be used in connection with national security
Palicte (2023). DepEd confidential funds for nat’l security:
matters, she also said that the basic education and national VP Sara. (2023). @Pnagovph:
security "are intertwined". The youth is the hope of the https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1209650#:~:text=DAVAO
country. However, they are being recruited [New People’s %20CITY%20%E2%80%93%20The%20confidential
Army (NPA)], brought to use illegal drugs, criminality, %20fund,and%20national%20security%20%22are
violent extremism, and terrorism. We do not want the %20intertwined.
future of the country to be like that,” she told local
reporters. She also added that there is proof of recruitment
to violent extremism and terrorism among the youth.
Western Mindanao is one of the hotspots for recruitment GROUP 2 - PROS
of individuals and groups espousing violent extremism. The Uyanguren, Crystel Kate L.
use of confidential funds has a legal basis, and there is no
proof of wrongdoing from the Office of the Vice President Dumapias, Bernice A.
(OVP) or DepEd for its utilization. Palicte, (2023)
Nacario, Gillian T.

Morales, Shiony H.
CONCLUSION
Hernane, James
In conclusion, the proposed removal of confidential funds
from the Department of Education in the 2024 General
Appropriations Bill is a necessary step towards ensuring the
safety and security of the Philippines. The funds will be
reallocated to other agencies, such as the Philippine Coast
Guard (PCG), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
(NICA), and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which are
responsible for protecting the country's territorial rights in
the West Philippine Sea and secure the national security.
The removal of confidential funds will also prohibit misuse
and overspending by government officials, as seen in the
case of the DepEd's Secretary. Instead of a confidential
fund the Department of Education and the other agencies
will receive allocations of Maintenance and Other
Operating Expenses (MOOE). Overall, the proposed plan for
the 2024 General Appropriations Bill is a necessary step
towards ensuring the safety and security of the Philippines
while still prioritizing education and other important
government plans.