Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 6261

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Representatives FERDINAND R. GAITE,
CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

AN ACT
MANDATING THE OVERSIGHT AND AUDIT OF GOVERNMENT
INTELLIGENCE AND CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money have been allotted to intelligence and confidential funds,
programs and activities of the government. According to Budget of Expenditures and Sources of
Financing for FY 2020, intelligence expenses and confidential expenses will be allocated a budget
of P48 billion and P3.5 billion, respectively.

For 2020, P4.5 million is allocated for intelligence and confidential expenses of the Office of the
President. This is an unprecedented increase of 400% from the request during the last year of the
Benigno Aquino [if administration. According to the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM), despite that OP is not a unit primarily responsible for intelligence outcomes, the
intelligence and confidential funds will be used “mainly for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war
against drugs, criminality and corruption.”

Also, in 2015, state auditors found that the Department of National Defense failed to liquidate a
total of P82.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Almost the
entire amount disbursed were only identified as “advances to officers and employees.”

‘As these funds are prone to misuse, the Commission on Audit (COA), together with the DBM,
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense
(DND) and the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) signed the Joint Circular on
Guidelines on the Entitlement, Release, Use, Reporting and Audit of the Confidential and/or
Intelligence Fund on January 8, 2015 for accountability and transparency.

Congressional oversight on intelligence and confidential funds in the 10", 11, 12, 13%, 14 and
15 and 16" Congresses were done through a Senate Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence
and Confidential funds, Programs and Activities that was created on August 1997, October 2001,
January 2005, August 2009, and September 2010, respectively.

But the Select Oversight Committee initiative does not fully address the issues concerning
transparency, accountability and other malevolent issues surrounding the use of intelligence and
confidential funds that also target Filipino citizens who are private individuals, government critics,
political activists and members of cause-oriented groups.

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Itis high time that the government rectify this unconstitutional mode of allocating intelligence and.
confidential funds that are free from audit, public scrutiny and official accountability.

Immediate approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

Approwd,

INAND R. GAITE
Bayan Muna Partylist

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo. 6261

Introduced by
BAYAN MUNA Representatives FERDINAND R. GAITE,
CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

AN ACT
MANDATING THE OVERSIGHT AND AUDIT OF GOVERNMENT
INTELLIGENCE AND CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. ~ ‘This law shall be known as the “Intelligence and Confidential Funds
‘Transparency Act of 2020.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — The principle and practice of transparency in
governance covers all branches, appendages, agencies, programs, policies and initiatives of the
State.

“The 1987 Constitution emphatically states that the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the
public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption (Article II
Section 27) and that no law shall be passed exempting any entity of the Government or its
subsidiaries in any guise whatever, or any investment of public funds, from the jurisdiction of the
Commission on Audit. (Article IX Section 3).

‘Article IIT Section 7 stated that the sight of the people to information on matters of public concern
shall be recognized.

“Yhis Act shall widen the parameters of our country’s democracy by once and for all clearly
defining that all State funds are indeed subject to audit, public scrutiny and official accountability.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, “Intelligence funds” are funds
provided for those related to intelligence information gathering activities of uniformed and
military personnel, and intelligence practitioners that have direct impact to national security.
“Confidential funds” are funds provided for those related to surveillance activities in civilian
‘government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the agency.

Intelligence funds shall only be released upon approval of the President, while Confidential funds
shall only be released of disbursed upon the approval of the Department Secretary concemed.

SECTION 4, Submission of Accomplishment Reports. Ali departments, bureaus, offices or

agencies, shall submit to the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
Chairperson of the COA, a detailed quarterly report on the disbursement of and use of intelligence

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and confidential funds, copy furnished the Senate Committee on Finance and House Committee
on Appropriations.

SECTION 5. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential
Funds. Pursuant to its constitutional duties, Congress and the Commission on Audit shall
discharge Oversight functions to wit:

(@) There shall be a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Intelligence and
Confidential Funds (JCOCIF) composed of five (5) members each from the Senate and
the House of Representatives. The JCOCIF shall be co-chaired by the chairpersons of
the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation, and the
House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability. It shall include the
Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on
Appropriations as well as two members from the Senate and House minorities. The Joint
Congressional Oversight Committee shall have its own independent counsel;

(b) The Oversight Committee shall conduct a semi-annual review of the status and
implementation of all programs and activities financed by intelligence and confidential
funds, its compliance with this Act and existing laws of the Republic and report to
Congress not later than June 30 of each year;

(©) The Commission on Audit shall conduct a yeatly special audit on all intelligence and
confidential funds and report to Congress not later than June 30 of each year.

SECTION 6, Non-imerference in Oversight and Audit Functions. in no way shall any
government agency, appendage, and its subsidiaries in any guise; or any private entity, interfere
with the oversight functions of Congress and the constitutional mandate of the Commission on
Audit.

SECTION 7. Use of Intelligence and Confidential Funds. Confidential and intelligence funds
provided for in the budgets of departments, burcms, offices or agencies of the National
Government, to be used for intelligence, counter-intelligence and confidential activities, shall be
released only upon the expressed recommendation of Congress via Joint Resolution, and the
approval of the President of the Philippines.

SECTION 8. Declassification of Intelligence and Confidential Funds Documents.
Documents related to the use of confidential and intelligence funds shall be automatically
declassified by the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential
Fund ten (10) years after the annual audit of such documents.

Provided that, no information related to the use of intelligence and confidential funds may remain
classified indefinitely.

SECTION 9, Penalties. The non-submission of accomplishment reports as defined in this Act
shall bar the telease of any and all allocations for intelligence and confidential funds until said
agency complies with Section 4

‘Any person who violates Section 4 of this Act shall result in the absolute perpetual disqualification
from holding any public office, notwithstanding applicable administrative and criminal penalties.


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SECTION 10. Separability Clause. Should any provision of this Act be declared
unconstitutional, the validity or constitutionality of the other provisions shall not be affected

thereby.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, letters of instruction, resolutions, orders,
‘ordinances, issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are

hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 11. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,