A budget expert warns that once confidential funds get to the national expenditure program and then to the general appropriations act, they will be 'normalized' in succeeding administrations
MANILA, Philippines – Early this month, Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte
“Due to its confidential nature, we are unable to delve into the details of how it is employed in operations,” she explained. In her first term as education secretary, Congress authorized the allocation of P150 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds in DepEd’s 2023 budget, despite opposition from some lawmakers.
Zy-za Suzara, executive director of iLead, a think-tank that monitors the national budget, said the existence of confidential funds raises concerns about transparency and accountability in budget allocation and spending.ina-allocate ba natin ay para ba sa tamangThis was echoed by Africa who said, “If there is a legitimate need for confidential funds, I think the DepEd secretary should explain to the public what are the legitimate needs.
Other institutions grappling with budget cuts include the National Book Development Board, the Philippine High School for the Arts, and the National Council for Children’s Television.Even though the P150-million confidential funds constitute only about 0.02% of DepEd’s proposed P759-billion total budget in 2024, Africa said this sends a signal about the education department’s leadership.
This substantial sum can also be used to address gaps in education resources, such as 4.5 million textbooks that cost P33 each, the annual salaries of 462 recently-employed teachers at Salary Grade 11 rates , or the provision of 250,000 subsidized public school uniforms.
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