Former COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza sa proposed confi at intel fund | The Mangahas Interviews
"Isa iyong tanong ko rito, bakit kailangan sa education? Ako'y nagtatanong bilang isang mag-aaral din, we continue to learn. Sasabihin daw na kasi ho nagkakaroon ng mga threat sa mga estudyante na nalululong sa droga. Tama iyon, kasi concern natin iyon bilang magulang. Pero ang tanong ko, iyong doon ba sa pag-aaral ng threat na iyon, sino ba ang mayroong kakayanan, hindi ba iyong ahensya na may mandato riyan? Bakit hindi natin idiretso sa PDEA? Bakit hindi natin idiretso sa PNP kung iyan ang problema? May kakayanan ba at may istruktura ang DepEd, ang sabi nga po ng requirement, kailangan naka-konekta doon sa mandato. Maaaring sa pasikot-sikot, pwedeng kumonekta. Pero iyong existing structure and capacity, gagamit din ng iba."
Mahigit P10 billion ang proposed confidential and intelligence fund sa panukalang 2024 national budget. Kalahati halos niyan ay mapupunta sa Office of the President. Bakit kailangan ng confidential at intelligence fund at paano masisiguro na magagamit ito sa tama? Sasagutin iyan ni Ex-COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Mahigit P10 billion ang proposed confidential and intelligence fund sa panukalang 2024 national budget. Kalahati halos niyan ay mapupunta sa Office of the President. Bakit kailangan ng confidential at intelligence fund at paano masisiguro na magagamit ito sa tama? Sasagutin iyan ni Ex-COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza sa #TheMangahasInterviews.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:05 Good day to all of you. You are now watching Damangas Interviews.
00:08 We will be opening some secrets about the use of confidential and intelligence funds.
00:14 Is it true that it is being used correctly?
00:17 Maybe there is a clue?
00:19 We have with us to answer those questions,
00:22 the former Commissioner of the Commission on Audit
00:24 and the former Undersecretary General of the United Nations for Oversight Services.
00:29 He is also a certified public accountant
00:32 and recently began to manage his offices
00:36 such as the Knife Site and other important works of Commissioner Heidi Mendoza.
00:43 Good day, ma'am.
00:44 Good day, Malu. And good day to all of our TMI followers.
00:50 All right.
00:51 Ma'am, let's go to the big deal
00:54 and the increase in the confidential and intelligence funds of our government agencies
01:00 starting with the Office of the President, the Vice President, and other agencies.
01:04 What is the process?
01:06 What are the rules for the use of confidential and intelligence funds?
01:10 We can start the process with budgeting.
01:15 As many of you know,
01:18 and as many of our listeners, we are really talking about experts,
01:24 even ordinary citizens, they will know.
01:27 When it comes to the process of the budget, there are four phases.
01:31 We call it preparation, legislation, execution, and accountability.
01:35 The difference is not that big if we include confidential and intelligence funds in other funds.
01:41 When it comes to the process of the budget,
01:44 for example, in preparation, it's the same.
01:47 It's different when it comes to execution and accountability.
01:52 As for your question on how to use it,
01:57 it's included in the Joint Circular of COA, DBM, DILG,
02:04 together with the Governance Commission, GCG, and more or less what I said, the issue of 2015.
02:14 When we asked, it was like we've been asking for 8 years.
02:17 It's like we need to go back.
02:19 I admit, I was one of those who helped in spreading the guidelines on how to spend.
02:31 There is a process.
02:35 What's different is what we call the guidelines.
02:38 The guidelines we made, and I admit, there is always a catch-all phrase.
02:44 We said we distinguished and defined the difference between confidential and intelligence.
02:51 Who should give it?
02:52 But we have a catch-all phrase in the letter.
02:55 There is a rider who said, "Whoever is included in the budget, in the general appropriations."
03:04 So that opened the gate for everyone who wants to be included.
03:15 And you're right, the sad part is that we are all in debt.
03:21 And not only that, we are still asking how to use it and what happened to the use.
03:31 I agree with what the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management said, that there is a law.
03:39 We know that's wrong.
03:41 In our country, we are not looking for something, we are lacking in the law.
03:45 But we are lacking in what we call implementation.
03:49 There is a need to be strengthened here because the CONFIFANS and INTEL, by the nature of the funds,
03:58 have a little sensitivity.
04:01 That's why we say that there needs to be a degree of balancing of what we call flexibility and accountability.
04:12 All right. Let's go to what you said about accountability.
04:17 When you ask for a CONFIFANS and INTEL funds, what should you submit?
04:23 Why do you ask for it? You said there should be a security report or plan.
04:30 What is that? How do you put yourself as qualified to get CONFIFANS and INTEL funds as an agency?
04:37 First, it's different. For example, if you are from the national government,
04:42 if you are from the local government or if you are from the corporation.
04:48 For the local government, we need what we call security plan and this has an endorsement.
04:55 The most reliable security is usually PNP.
04:59 Because that's right, right? Before we talk about your budget and before I release that,
05:05 let's talk about your plan where you will use this.
05:10 And usually this plan needs to be connected to your mandate.
05:15 For example, your mandate is you are the enforcer of peace or it's a bit clear, right?
05:23 So you need to put, of course among others, everyone needs to submit a financial and work plan.
05:30 But the security varies with the mandate of the agency.
05:35 We know that there are agencies that by the nature of that you already know that they need INTEL funds.
05:44 We don't believe you. We're not saying that this is not necessary,
05:47 especially for our agencies in peacekeeping, in defending freedom, etc.
05:57 So that's what you need. Your plan needs to be clear when it comes to what we call security,
06:05 where and what is the relationship with this and the mandate of the agency.
06:09 According to the mandate, the Philippine Coast Guard's proposed INTEL-CONFIFUND is P10 million.
06:16 The Vice President's Office is asking for P500 million plus the DepEd is P150 million.
06:22 And most of all, the Office of the President is asking for P4.5 billion or almost half of the total budget
06:30 in the National Economic Expenditure Program.
06:35 But is this fair? The Coast Guard that is fighting or guarding the West Philippine Sea,
06:41 as a senator said, why is their CONFIFUND like this?
06:45 Why is the OVP so big?
06:48 Okay, I will answer that from different points of view.
06:52 First, from the point of view of the mandate, what we call the innate nature of the agency because this is their mandate.
07:00 I will add a little bit because it's been a while since I taught my subject in the Pamantasan of the Marikina Islands and the Ateneo School of Government.
07:10 I studied that in the Coast Guard. You won't believe it, Malug, that P10 million has not been increased since then.
07:18 It's been a few years of P10 million and there was a time when they didn't have a budget for intelligence.
07:26 Why are they being highlighted now? Because the role of the Coast Guard is different.
07:32 Saludo, the spokesperson of the Coast Guard is really handsome, right?
07:36 He is blocking and speaking, he is cutting.
07:40 What this shows us is that it is not measured by CONFIFUND, right?
07:47 Because it is really handsome, fighting, brave and you can say that the people have confidence when it comes to defending the ocean even if it is a small amount of CONFIFUND.
07:58 The second thing I want to highlight from the point of view of the budget for education and vice president.
08:07 One of my questions here is, why is it necessary for education?
08:11 I am asking as a student because we continue to learn, right?
08:16 They say that there are threats to students who are addicted to drugs.
08:22 That's wrong, that's right. We are concerned as parents.
08:25 But my question is, if it is in education, that threat, the first thing is education, not education.
08:32 Who has the ability? Isn't it the agency that has a mandate?
08:40 My question is, why don't we just direct it to PDEA? That's the problem.
08:46 Why don't we direct it to PNP if that's the problem?
08:49 Anyway, we know that it is easy to give orders if the money is there.
08:56 Because the question here is, if we will put that in the budget of the Secretary of Department of Education,
09:02 the question is, is there a capacity and is the Department of Education structured?
09:08 The requirement says that it must be connected to the mandate.
09:12 It can be connected in a circle but the existing structure and capacity, others will use it.
09:19 The third point I want to point out is the Office of the President.
09:23 It is big. If we look at the budget of the Office of the President,
09:27 it is the opposite of the Coast Guard, it is really like a mess and it is gone.
09:35 The Office of the President, since the last administration, the budget for Intel has increased.
09:41 Now, I have a small point of view on that.
09:45 The Office of the President approves Intel and Confidence of other agencies.
09:50 So my question is, you are the one who approves it.
09:54 You give the biggest one to you? Okay, let's do it.
09:58 Second, if you approve it, you will see the plan.
10:02 NGAA will submit, Corporation B will submit.
10:07 I don't want to mention the agency, we might have more enemies.
10:11 It's up to you. You will say, this is okay, this is not okay, this is reduced, etc.
10:18 My question is, if you see that as an executive and as the highest office,
10:25 you will see where it should be placed.
10:33 That's what we are waiting for, the honest and truthful way of thinking and looking.
10:42 Wait, I will approve this, the national and corporate.
10:47 Should it be bigger than mine? I can see how the agency needs it and what they lack.
10:56 That's all for me.
10:57 Third, as the President, all the mechanisms and agencies are at your disposal.
11:04 You will use them.
11:07 Fourth, this is not affected by the budget process.
11:10 Once it is released, it is released immediately. It's lump sum.
11:14 We cannot say that if you knock it in the budget of the agency, you will have a hard time getting it.
11:20 No, it's not. And remember, you are the President. The power is in you.
11:27 That's like almost 5 billion pesos of confidential funds in the office of the President.
11:34 Let's add the other agencies that have confidential funds.
11:38 That's almost half a billion in the Department of Justice, 2 billion in the Department of National Defense,
11:44 900 million in the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
11:48 All of that will go through the approval of the President.
11:51 The local government is the only one in the DILG.
11:56 The only difference is that they have their own pockets.
12:01 The agencies, once approved by the President, have their own pockets.
12:07 I'm not saying that it's wrong.
12:10 So we will clarify. Approval is right.
12:13 Aside from that, there are also some departments that asked for confidential funds.
12:18 But the total budget is also big.
12:22 It means that the base figure is super duper bigger.
12:26 It's stretched.
12:27 Yes, it's stretched.
12:28 So a smaller percentage may mean that it's not in real terms smaller
12:35 but the base amount is bigger. Is that so?
12:38 My question is, let's go back.
12:41 If we say this is important, then we should give a big amount
12:45 because considering the increased security threats and vulnerability,
12:50 not only on the domestic but on the global environment.
12:54 So my question is, okay, we're saying that it's not even 1%.
12:57 But if we're saying and we're all convinced that it is important,
13:01 then my question is, let's see.
13:04 It's important if you give a small amount and there are still a lot that should not be given.
13:10 That's what we should look at.
13:13 My point is, it's like with the family.
13:15 We said that this is our budget and I even borrowed it.
13:19 Your son said, "Can I go shopping and buy a branded bag?"
13:27 "This is just a small branded bag, it's very cheap to give me second hand."
13:31 My question is, there are still a lot that are in need.
13:34 This is the issue.
13:35 Let's not use it in the percentage because if we are convinced that this is important,
13:39 that is not the issue.
13:41 The real issue is who is in need.
13:46 There is no question in terms of whether it is necessary.
13:48 The question is who is in need and who should be given.
13:54 By the very fact that there is a small amount that is given.
13:59 So it's an impact.
14:01 We need to have an impact.
14:02 We need what we call quality of spending.
14:06 But aside from the confidential fund,
14:09 actually the office of the president, I covered several presidencies in Malacanang.
14:14 There are a lot of lump sum funds that he has access to.
14:19 Calamity Fund, confidential fund.
14:21 You have the Presidential Social Fund.
14:23 That's a big one.
14:24 So aside from that, the contribution of the PAG Corp.
14:28 The Presidential Social Fund.
14:31 There are a lot of funds that the president can use for any purposes.
14:39 But the confidential and intelligence fund, there are more.
14:43 Is that so?
14:44 Is there a package?
14:45 That's not all, Malu.
14:47 I didn't study it thoroughly.
14:50 But I looked at the last administration when I was studying the financial statement.
14:55 I saw that they have a lot of donations.
14:57 Of course, there are a lot of people we call when you run.
15:01 And of course, you have a lot of friends from different, for example, Calamity.
15:07 Not only that, you have specific programs.
15:10 We have big companies that want to donate to the specific project of the president.
15:17 So there are a lot of funds.
15:19 There are donations.
15:20 The composition of donations in the office of the president is also big.
15:23 We have the Presidential Social Funds.
15:26 We have Calamity Funds.
15:29 Now, let's clarify.
15:30 We might say that we don't know how to study.
15:32 It's embarrassing.
15:33 Of course, there are different mandates.
15:35 There are different things.
15:36 You will use the Presidential Social Funds here.
15:39 You will use the Calamity Funds here.
15:42 Of course, there is a donation here.
15:45 But the question is, if you are the one who approves the so-called security and confidential funds,
15:53 with of course the Secretary of National Defense,
15:57 our question is, you should be able to see who should be given.
16:03 As a president, as a father of a family, if you know that the money that your child will receive is small,
16:08 you know who among your children will be the one who will work hard,
16:11 who among your children will have a duty to take care of security,
16:15 my question here is, won't you give it to those agencies?
16:19 We are recognizing the needs of the office of the president.
16:24 We have no objections to that.
16:27 We are really recognizing the importance of the role or role of the office of the president.
16:36 But I said, when it comes to this budget, I hope there is a little bit of a diversion.
16:42 That's what we call it.
16:44 The bottom line of the auditors, we always say, the prudence of a good father of a family.
16:50 That's the principle of the law, how to spend money.
16:55 The prudence of a good father of a family.
16:58 We are looking for that.
17:00 We also went to the report this past week that it seems like the budget for travel, foreign and local,
17:08 the office of the president, the increase is almost 900%.
17:14 From Php 403 million to Php 990 million, 12 foreign trips and fewer local in-country trips.
17:26 Is this also included in the confidential fund or should it be audited?
17:32 Because it seems like the office of the president will give a document about these trips and the expenses.
17:40 Okay, let's put it in the right context because we are philosophers.
17:44 When we say it increased, of course it's wrong.
17:47 The grab was only Php 150, now my expenses are Php 300.
17:50 It really increased.
17:51 So the real cost really increased but it's not included in the confidential fund.
17:57 So it should be shared.
17:59 What we can say here is that if the spending on travel is increasing,
18:06 remember there are many aspects of the life of our government, our history,
18:14 the tightening of the belt, right?
18:19 Attrition, attrition, and it's prohibited to buy expensive cars and no foreign travel.
18:25 This is what we are looking for.
18:28 That's why I'm surprised because we are having a hard time, we are still responding to the threat of COVID,
18:35 we have a lot of neighbors who are bullying us, we have a lot of needs.
18:42 Maybe there are a few things and I will clarify that it's not included in the confidential fund
18:50 and the documents should be sealed and enveloped.
18:52 These are public information that must be shared because it's part of our public official.
19:03 And to clarify, what the office of the press secretary said is that there is a return on investment for these trips
19:11 and the pledges that the President got from different investors, businessmen, and the government are worth 5 billion.
19:20 But my question is, in the confidential and intelligence fund,
19:23 do you have a report or any sort of report because you said execution and accountability are important.
19:34 How far could we go to look at the spending of confidential and intelligence funds?
19:41 Maybe we need to clarify what I said and what the difference is.
19:45 Maybe later they will say we jumped on it.
19:47 The difference is, we have resident auditors, right?
19:52 That's where you go when you travel, you will submit liquidation,
19:57 you will give it to the auditor when it comes to the account to post audit, right?
20:04 The confidential funds do not go to the resident auditors.
20:07 What they only see is the withdrawal of cash advance that is given by the confi or intel funds.
20:16 When it comes to what we call accountability,
20:19 it is the confidential and intelligence audit unit of the office under the office of the chair of COA.
20:29 This is where we submit what we call certification.
20:32 There is a certification outside and there is an envelope.
20:36 The plan is there, the security is there, and the certification of the dispersing officer and the head of unit
20:42 that this cash advance is what we used in accordance with the security plan that we submitted.
20:49 I also make sure that it is in accordance with our activities that we included.
20:57 Then the ICFAW, Intelligence and Confidential, they will look at it and they can issue what we call clearance.
21:08 The clearance will be given by the HUDIAT to withdraw the next cash advance for the intel funds or confi.
21:17 Now take note that there is a provision in the law, this is Joint Circular,
21:22 that says at any one point, the submission of supporting documents can be demanded by COA.
21:30 Wait, let me see your document because it is quite big.
21:37 Now this is what we want to say, let's not think that the solution here is the audit.
21:45 Because there are limitations when it comes to audit.
21:48 For example, I saw in the purchase of information with Asset A.
21:54 How do you establish the validity that you really purchased information with Asset A?
22:00 Of course, there is a document. But in terms of that, you cannot have a full audit.
22:06 Who is Asset A? You should not know that. It might be against national security or it can leak, etc.
22:13 National security can be compromised.
22:15 Second, you may not understand the importance of the information that was purchased.
22:22 Third, you don't know if it is really information or it is hard to establish the identity.
22:28 Like for example, in procurement of supplies, it is easy to say that this is a supplier,
22:33 a relative of so and so and this is where he sells sensitive information like purchase of information.
22:40 Or second, rental of safe houses.
22:43 You will be compromising national security.
22:46 Second and third, how do you establish that it is a safe house?
22:50 Well, there are audit techniques but what I'm saying is that there are limitations in the audit.
22:55 So it is not really a risk.
22:58 So what we have here is that you will just look at the relationship of that document with the plan and activity.
23:07 But there is always that doubt that exists as to whether this is true or not.
23:15 Because you cannot pursue when it comes to the reliability of the documents that is being presented to you
23:23 because of the sensitivity of the confidentiality of the nature of the spending.
23:28 So what we need to put in is what we call oversight and other control mechanisms.
23:37 For example, when I was teaching, this is a good discussion that we had,
23:42 they said that the problem when it comes to liquidation, the point of view or what we call concentration,
23:51 your efforts are in liquidation not because you want to achieve the objective or you want to do the right spending.
24:00 If not, I need to liquidate so that you can get the next tranche of CONFI and INTEL plans.
24:07 So the point of view is the point of consideration now becomes the issuance of the next cash advance
24:14 and not the examination of the quality of spending of these CONFI or INTEL plans.
24:22 Can I ask, can we know how often is the cash advance?
24:27 What is the frequency? Just to see, the 4.5 billion pesos of CONFI and INTEL plans of the President is about 12 million pesos per day.
24:40 That's what I want from you, Malung. You're good at counting.
24:44 The total amount is 10 billion pesos.
24:47 It means our government could be spending 24 million pesos a day on CONFI and INTEL plans alone.
24:55 If the replenishment of their cash advance is that frequent, is there a limit to replenishing and how often is it?
25:02 Malung, on the basis of the cash advance, for example, your cash advance is about 100 million.
25:09 If it's decreasing, your funds are depleting, of course you will liquidate so that you can use it.
25:15 But let's look at the reality. This is on the basis of when I was auditing.
25:20 I do not want to preempt the current situation and say that we are in a relationship.
25:26 When we were auditing, it was just a procedural thing.
25:29 It's just being submitted so that you can get the second certification audit.
25:34 You look at the certification, if there is a certification, you sign it, okay, go.
25:38 So that's how it is.
25:39 Your question is good, your question is good. Let's ask about the frequency.
25:43 I can't answer you how many times as of now because it's been a long time since the last time I audited.
25:48 What did you see when you audited? Was there a good way to spend the Confi and Intel funds?
25:53 That's the problem. I can't share because that's what we promised.
25:59 When the audit was done, it was just given to the president and I kept quiet for the rest of the time.
26:04 Because that's the nature of Confi and Intel funds.
26:07 But maybe we can say that it is always useful to take a look.
26:14 Because our question is wrong. There should be a little sensitivity.
26:18 The people of the country are noisy.
26:20 They get angry when they are noisy.
26:22 We get angry when we don't listen.
26:24 If our budget is very small, even if you say 1% or less than 1%,
26:29 "Hello Secretary, we will have a hard time. A little barrier is a big thing for us."
26:36 Now if we can see that it is increasing,
26:40 we don't need to say, "Wait, wait, wait, let's be noisy."
26:44 What happened?
26:45 To say that we are not sleeping, let's look at the past.
26:51 Let's open the Confi and Intel funds of the last president.
26:55 It's like lessons learned, right?
26:57 So we don't say we are stepping on sensitive toes or something.
27:02 So we need to look to see what are the lessons learned and I'm sure we will get lessons learned.
27:09 What I always point out is why don't we activate oversight at the level of the legislation?
27:17 When we say, "Okay, this is what the budget is asking for.
27:21 Let's not be too fancy with what we call plenary."
27:24 And we know that it's just being fancy and there is no deep follow-up.
27:28 In the end, the strong will win.
27:31 My only question is, what if we all agree that there will be a higher level of the committee
27:39 where we will say that they are not the ones who are forming the Congress and the Senate or something.
27:45 If not, the experts, and I would like to emphasize, the experts and the trusted security experts or security practitioners all across the administration to be fair.
27:59 So we can say, "Okay, if the security plan is drawn, we call it backed up by the funds, right?
28:07 The budget is asking for it, they will be the ones to scrutinize, right?
28:10 They are the ones who have the key, right?
28:13 And honest to goodness, we can give this, this, this, this so that we can argue,
28:20 "Yes, it's not yet 1% but I can risk my life, it's important and it can be used."
28:29 Let's call for that committee.
28:31 Let's increase the level of oversight.
28:33 Okay.
28:34 Now, the oversight, for example, if we say there is a national security plan, the country fund should be used.
28:40 But what are the national security threats if we say it one by one?
28:44 For example, the external, these drug syndicates, terrorism, financial scams, financial white collar crimes.
28:57 But it can also be external, China and other threats.
29:01 It can also be food security issues.
29:03 But all of those things, if we say it invokes national security,
29:10 you will never ever find out if the confidential fund has been spent properly
29:15 because you will just rely on the approval, request approval of the Secretary and President.
29:22 Is that so?
29:23 Maloo, Maloo, there is a little clarification.
29:25 I said that the COA has authority to look at and say, but our point is, it's a post-audit, right?
29:33 So the good control, the level of oversight is only in the approval of the budget.
29:39 Earlier you mentioned the type of threat.
29:42 You know I have another proposal here.
29:44 If we include the banks in that committee, remember how many are the victims?
29:49 There are many who are victims of illegal use of credit cards, right?
29:56 What can the banks do?
29:58 That is a big risk on the part of the banks and I'm calling them now, right?
30:03 Can you imagine if there is a committee that includes these people because this is their concern.
30:09 This is a risk not only on the part of the national government but on everyone that is being affected, right?
30:15 The so-called financial institutions, right?
30:18 And if they sit there and look at it, it's not just that.
30:22 Maybe they can take a little risk.
30:25 Right Maloo?
30:26 Take a risk because what can the banks do if for example, they got an ATM or what do they say?
30:31 We already reported it to the PNP, right?
30:34 We already reported it to the PNP and then they lied there and they died there.
30:40 That's the joke, right? Mona Lisa story.
30:43 Where do I go?
30:44 If this committee scrutinizes this, it would be great if the national plan comes out.
30:50 And maybe if it's fully trusted, the people who are being affected will be affected.
30:58 The DICT, Department of Information and Communication Technology is asking for around P300 million from the CONFI and Intel Fund.
31:07 But the problem is their rate of disbursement of the 2023 budget is so low that our lawmakers are in doubt.
31:17 Can you really do that?
31:19 And the undersecretary of the DICT whom we interviewed said that they don't have a fund for security and intelligence.
31:29 So what you're saying about phishing, e-commerce crimes that are happening, it doesn't seem to be taken seriously.
31:38 And it's not the job of the president if the one who will talk about it is a mandate, that there is a big Intel Fund.
31:45 It's high time that even if we say that it's not even 1%, it's all the more because it's not enough.
31:53 So let's think about where and who will be given.
31:57 And as I said, if we increase the oversight, there will be participation in the private sector affected.
32:04 Can you imagine that?
32:06 The security plan becomes credible.
32:08 The security plan becomes something that they can invest in and they can donate or they can take part in increasing that fund.
32:19 Compared to the banks where you have to pay someone to investigate or you have to pay someone to get your information first,
32:26 or the thieves who are looking for the investigator.
32:29 Why don't we make it?
32:31 If it's credible, it's credible. If it's not, it's not.
32:36 Trust and easy to find where to get the best fund.
32:43 Senator JV Hercito, why does it seem like it's becoming popular?
32:49 Almost all government agencies are asking for confidential and intelligence funds.
32:55 The work is like a civilian agency. There is no business in intelligence gathering or law enforcement.
33:03 But the CIF is giving it to them. It's like a presidential pork.
33:10 Okay. My question is, you can see it and you're asking, why is no one doing anything?
33:16 You can pass a resolution, right?
33:20 Who is brave enough? That's our question.
33:23 Maybe someone wants to stand up and say, "Come on, let's look at it for purposes of what?"
33:29 We don't need to disclose the security.
33:31 I said, previous years for lessons learned.
33:35 So it means that you have desensitized the information on national security.
33:42 You know what I mean, right?
33:43 So it can be opened. Why not?
33:46 I will answer his question first. I have a reason for that because it's good.
33:51 We can say that his proposals and bills are good.
33:59 My answer to that is because what everyone is looking for is what we call discretion.
34:05 You are the one who will say where you will spend.
34:09 I said, I will buy a purchase of information, I will give this to the rental company.
34:15 You are the one who will say, you will determine.
34:17 Second, there is no resident auditor audit.
34:21 Correct.
34:22 We said, and this is in fairness because we always balance and that is our point of view always, to be fair.
34:30 They will say, because there are things that you really want to do and you need to do but because of the many controls or laws, your hands are tied.
34:41 That is also right. If you have a good heart and you are right in your heart, you are also affected by the many laws and regulations.
34:51 And sometimes we call it too burdensome procedures of audit.
34:57 But more often than not, this is the question I always say to a country like ours, to the politicians we have,
35:06 to the citizens like many of us, that when will we apply or use funds, style, confi and intel funds that have no hesitation and are very flexible.
35:23 But last year, the budget was approved in a few minutes.
35:28 That's what I said about styling in the plenary. So the solution is for the Senate and Congress to agree that we should get a committee that is respectable and credible.
35:42 And if possible, the banks that work in cyber will be included because they have a lot of experience.
35:49 Because the overall national security has already metamorphosed. The threats during the administration of Tita Cory are different from the threats now.
36:00 The structure is also different. So we need to study. First, go back to the guidelines.
36:08 Second, maybe there is a handsome guy who will stand up. If there is a handsome guy who will stand up, I will campaign and make my son happy.
36:17 In the barangay elections.
36:19 In the barangay elections.
36:21 My question is, how do we square the circle? Like, again and again, going around.
36:29 Unless you say, I hope there is an oversight committee, before spending or before giving confidential and intelligence funds that can be reviewed.
36:37 I hope there is also clarification for the purposes vis-a-vis the mandate.
36:42 And who should give it?
36:43 And who should give it? Now, the question is, Congressman Ralph Recto, there is no more funds for our budget of P5.7 trillion.
36:56 Where is the big debt that we incurred? Although, most of it is Peso loans, not dollar loans.
37:07 We should not have problems. And Senator Bato said, it's just a loan, let's not be afraid.
37:13 What do you think about this? When this is combined, the confidential and intel funds are increasing, the revenue for our budget is shrinking, the debt of the outside and inside of the Philippines is increasing.
37:27 I have a post on my Facebook, Malue, just now. I said, quote of the day.
37:31 I said, it's just a loan, relax. My point is, if you are going to pay for a loan that you don't know where it went and how it was spent, I cannot relax.
37:43 Now, on the overall, we said, it's true, on the increasing vulnerability and threats, on the ballooning debt that we have, we need to call out the truth that the budget is a political process. It is.
38:04 And we know how bad politics is in the country. For me, I'm just saying, let's continue. Thank you Malue for this program. Thank you to the media that is reporting on this.
38:18 Thank you to the viewers who are tired of listening and reading my long posts that are sometimes just for fun.
38:25 Let's continue to call out. If you remember Malue, on the Maharlika funds, we called out just to not include GSIS and SSS.
38:35 I wrote something back then, I was even wearing it when I wrote it, but they left because they called out.
38:41 A lot of people called out. I was not asked for credit. A lot of people called out. I think, if we will call out, and if there are handsome superwomen, supermen, who are standing in Congress and Senate to prove what we call agent and principal relationship,
39:02 that agent, the so-called halal, will really act for and on behalf of the benefit of the principal.
39:11 Now, if we cannot see and it is far away, we will again call out to the father of our family, the due diligence of a good father of a family.
39:22 If you are the one who approves and you see the need, and you are the one we will say we will praise and thank and benefit, why not blame and look before approving?
39:38 And again, of course, this is the strength of my strength, the tireless Filipinos who are continuously caring.
39:47 Others said, "Don't worry about that because we won't run away." But my question is, if you are paying your debts every day, and you did not owe, shouldn't we look and blame where it is going?
40:03 And especially in the Department of Budget and Management, the role of the Department of Budget and Management is very important. We salute the workers in their hard work and commitment.
40:17 I would like to say, before we look at the ratio and the relationship in terms of quantity, let's also strive to look at the quality of spending.
40:35 You are struggling to release money or budget of the agency. Isn't it wrong? If the submission is not correct, the agency will not release it.
40:44 We are not saying that the release of money is not automatic because now it is the release document.
40:54 It should be like this, we are also struggling to give this, but we know and we can say that we don't know what we are saying. It's in the Congress and Senate, in the President and in the lawmakers, in the elected officials and appointed by the city's officials.
41:12 I will repeat, it is the citizens' interest and the citizens' support that should be prioritized. If you cannot make it happen even if you just pretend, then it is the citizens' need to be a bit noisy and to continue to monitor.
41:29 In the end, we will also go to the next one. I hope that there will be more good people in the government. And I said, the President and the President are very important in their role and he will also benefit.
41:44 He will be appreciated and he will not forget if the budget and spending of the Punto ng Bayan is correct.
41:54 So in summary, it is really important to monitor and I hope that the lawmakers will move to look for more opportunities than just to approve.
42:06 And to all of us, please ask for a receipt. What is the effect of confidential and intelligence funds, Diana?
42:13 It's like, as long as it can be released, you will not just chase it but you already spent it.
42:19 Yes, and I said, why don't we look at the lessons learned. If we are afraid of being trampled by the powerful, let's look at the past so we can have nature.
42:33 So in fairness, we cannot say that we are yellow or DDS or whatever. Let's look back and then let's see. Not for purposes of disclosing this or that. No, not that.
42:45 Let's look at the trending, let's look at the quality, what is nature, how much is the rental. We don't need to disclose where the safe house is.
42:57 Let's just look at nature and then we can connect because we said there are certain information that is desensitized because the threat is over.
43:06 Let's go back to the activities and does the spending contribute to the activities? And then let's go back to the guidelines. It's high time. It's been 8 years.
43:17 And we are chasing the military now. We are chasing them in the sense that you are the ones who are truly sacrificing because your life is at risk.
43:28 Intelligence funds is the blood of intelligence gathering and surveillance. It is the blood of your intelligence operations. It is the blood of your combat operation, security operation.
43:41 So if you are the ones who are fighting, shouldn't you be the ones who are fighting? Let's go back to our lessons learned.
43:49 I said this in my other interview, the dispersing officer is the one who is responsible here. You are the one who is going to certify, you are the one who is going to file.
43:59 If you are the one who is audited, you are the one who is going to be charged. Who will lose their job? Who will be charged?
44:05 So seldom, we know that in the law, there is an approving authority. That is very difficult. The one who is holding the money is the one who is most often involved.
44:15 So my point is, before we get excited about the money we are going to hold when there is not much audit, let's study it first.
44:22 We need this. The lives of the soldiers here are at risk. So let's make the best use of this.
44:31 Don't be angry with those who are saying right and asking. That is their right. And remember, what we are doing is also for them.
44:41 We care for them and we value their commitment and their contribution to national security.
44:50 We cannot equalize their sacrifice. If possible, let's keep an eye on how to use the PONDO NONG BAYAN.
44:56 All right. Okay, on that note, we thank Ms. Heidi Mendoza.
45:01 Thank you very much and it is a great help to clarify things about confidential and intelligence funds.
45:10 Magandang araw, ma'am.
45:11 [Music]
45:24 (upbeat music)