Malacañang on Thursday rejected assertions that confidential funds are immune to oversight, clarifying that the sensitive nature of these allocations does not relieve government agencies of their duty to account for public spending.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed that entities utilizing confidential funds must maintain comprehensive supporting records and liquidation reports, which the Commission on Audit (COA) can examine whenever irregularities are flagged.
“Confidential funds, hindi dahil nandiyan ang salitang confidential ay hindi ka na magre-report ng maayos,” Castro said, emphasizing that receipts and other records must prove that the transactions and activities actually occurred and were connected to authorized purposes related to national security and peace and order.
The Palace’s remarks coincide with ongoing proceedings in the Senate impeachment court regarding the utilization of confidential allocations by offices under Vice President Sara Duterte.
House prosecutors have accused the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) of spending a total of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds. This includes a ₱125 million disbursement released to the OVP in December 2022 that was reportedly spent over an 11-day period from December 21 to 31.
Castro pointed to Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which governs the release, utilization, reporting, and auditing of confidential and intelligence funds.
She noted that the guidelines do not insulate these accounts from scrutiny, but rather establish special safety protocols to handle sensitive records.
“Nandiyan po, malinaw sa joint circular 2015-01 kung paano dapat i-liquidate ang confidential funds,” Castro said, adding that supporting documents may be kept under proper security measures but must be made available when the Commission on Audit raises questions.
She added that utilizing confidential allocations remains valid as long as the expenditures align with an agency’s official mandate and legitimate operational scope.
“Walang mali sa confidential funds, kung ito ay nagagamit sa tunay na dahilan or purpose at kung ito ay base sa mandato ng ahensiya,” she said.
The Palace official also questioned reports indicating confidential funds were spent on Duterte’s personal security detail, pointing out that official security and intelligence support are already provided to the Vice President through existing state security agencies.
The impeachment trial has centered heavily on the OVP’s ₱125 million allocation, with prosecutors raising questions about its liquidation records and pointing to alleged fictitious or unverified recipients.
Castro maintained that the Marcos administration remains neutral regarding the trial proceedings.
“Even before, sinabi po natin na ang Pangulo at ang administrasyon ay hindi makikialam sa anumang ginagawa at proseso dito sa impeachment trial,” she said.
“But as part of our mandate to explain the truth,” she added, the Palace will continue to clarify issues concerning the management and accountability of public funds.
The Senate impeachment court is continuing its review of the case against Duterte, with the management of confidential funds forming a key component of the first article of impeachment.