MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is facing renewed scrutiny over the ₱1.5 billion in confidential funds allocated in 2025, after a lawmaker questioned the sharp increase and pressed the agency to explain how the money was used.
During the House Committee on Appropriations’ deliberations on the DOJ’s proposed 2027 budget, ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio questioned why the department’s confidential funds had ballooned from ₱168 million in 2024 to about ₱1.5 billion in 2025.
Tinio described the increase as a major jump and asked where such a large amount of cash had been spent.
Where did the ₱1.5 billion go?
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida told lawmakers that the confidential funds were distributed among several DOJ offices and programs.
According to the figures he presented:
- ₱1.184 billion was used by the Office of the Secretary;
- ₱319 million went to the Witness Protection Program (WPP);
- ₱15 million was used by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT);
- ₱475,000 went to the Office of Cybercrime; and
- ₱5 million was used by the National Coordination Center Against Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM).
The figures total roughly ₱1.523 billion, consistent with the DOJ’s reported confidential-fund spending for 2025.
Vida said the funds were used during the tenure of then-Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, who later became Ombudsman.
More importantly, Vida said the DOJ’s records show that the funds were fully disbursed and liquidated in accordance with Commission on Audit (COA) rules.
Tinio: The increase needs scrutiny
For Tinio, however, liquidation does not end the issue.
He pointed to the dramatic increase from ₱168 million in 2024 to around ₱1.5 billion in 2025 and urged lawmakers to restore what he described as “reasonable” budgeting for government agencies.
The lawmaker argued that the scale of the increase warrants closer examination, particularly because confidential funds operate under rules that allow certain expenditures to remain undisclosed publicly for security and operational reasons.
Tinio also criticized what he described as the continued expansion of confidential and intelligence funds under successive administrations.
The DOJ’s confidential-fund history
The sharp 2025 increase did not come out of nowhere.
Government budget data reported by the Philippine News Agency showed that the DOJ had been allocated ₱579.4 million in combined confidential and intelligence funds for 2025 during the original budget planning process, including allocations for the DOJ Office of the Secretary, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration and the Office of the Solicitor General.
The later figure discussed during the House hearing reflects the actual 2025 confidential-fund level cited by lawmakers and DOJ officials, which became substantially larger than the earlier budget figure.
That distinction is important: the ₱1.5-billion figure being debated is the 2025 confidential-fund amount cited in the current budget hearing, not simply the original figure contained in early 2025 budget proposals.
Confidential funds remain a recurring budget issue
The controversy comes as Congress continues to scrutinize the government’s use of confidential and intelligence funds.
The issue has also surfaced in discussions surrounding the 2026 and 2027 national budgets.
Earlier reports indicated that the DOJ’s confidential-fund allocation was reduced to about ₱729 million for 2026, while the proposed amount for 2027 was reported at roughly ₱364 million.
The Department of Budget and Management has separately emphasized that confidential and intelligence funds remain subject to government budgeting, utilization, liquidation and auditing rules. In its proposed 2027 budget, the government sought ₱4.368 billion in confidential funds nationwide, alongside ₱6.405 billion in intelligence funds.
Why liquidation does not necessarily end the debate
The DOJ’s position is straightforward: the money was spent and the expenditures were liquidated under applicable COA rules.
But the political and budgetary question is broader.
Lawmakers are not only asking whether the funds were liquidated. They are also questioning why the DOJ needed such a dramatic increase in confidential funding in the first place, particularly when the amount rose nearly tenfold from the previous year’s figure.
That distinction is likely to remain central as Congress examines the DOJ’s proposed 2027 budget.
The DOJ, meanwhile, is expected to defend its funding requirements by pointing to its law-enforcement, investigative and witness-protection responsibilities.
What happens next?
For now, there is no finding in the reports reviewed that the ₱1.5 billion was stolen or illegally spent.
Vida’s statement specifically maintains that the funds were fully disbursed and liquidated under COA rules. The controversy instead centers on the size of the allocation, how it was used, and whether such a large confidential-fund budget was justified.
That means the bigger question for Congress may not simply be “Was the money liquidated?”
It may be:
“Why did the DOJ need ₱1.5 billion in confidential funds in the first place—and should agencies be allowed to receive such a dramatic increase without a more detailed public accounting?”
As the 2027 budget process moves forward, that question could become one of the DOJ’s most closely watched budget battles.
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