The confidential funds initially for Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte's offices will be redirected toward agencies at the forefront of efforts to address tensions in the West Philippine Sea

In a statement, House appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co confirmed that the two offices are among the civilian agencies whose confidential and intelligence funds will be realigned to augment the budgets of government agencies at the forefront of efforts to address tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

“So far that’s what we have identified, but we’re still looking at other sources,” Co said in a statement on Wednesday night, September 27, referring to the OVP’s P500-million confidential fund and the DepEd’s P150-million confidential fund.

“Now is the time to give our intelligence community the means to perform their duties, especially in these pressing times when we’re facing serious concerns in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.