Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday hit Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Rep. France Castro for calling to realign the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) proposed ₱500 million confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under its 2024 budget.
In a brief statement, Duterte stated that the realignment of the CIF is up to both chambers of Congress.
"The matter of Confidential Funds should be left to the wisdom of the entire membership of the House of Representatives and the Senate and not to Ms. France Castro," she said.
Castro has called on the House leadership to transfer the OVP's proposed CIF to the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) 2024 budget.
She cited that the PCG has been receiving only ₱10 million in CIF since 2009 despite its continuous efforts to defend the country against China's "bullying" in the West Philippine Sea.
"If the OVP is so concerned with national security then it should have no objections and would in fact support the transfer of its P500M to the PCG," Castro added.
The ACT party-list solon also called on for the transfer of the proposed ₱150 CIF of the Department of Education (DepEd) which is also under Duterte's leadership.
"Sa totoo lang ang confidential and intel funds sa Deped at OVP na aabot sa ₱650M ay pork barrel lang ng bise presidente, it is high time na irealign ito sa PCG para magamit laban sa mga dayuhang nanghihimasok sa ating teritoryo," Castro pointed out.
Earlier, the Vice President defended DepEd's millions worth of funds, underscoring that education is connected with national security.
