The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today reiterated its firm position for the abolition of the Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF) of the Office of the President (OP), saying that Marcos Jr is the holder of the biggest pork barrel budget in the proposed 2025 national budget. The OP’s budget was approved hastily during this morning’s hearing at the House of Representatives.

“For 2025, Marcos Jr will get a whopping P4.5 billion in CIF or 44% of the total CIF budget without any checks and balance from state auditors. We cannot allow Marcos Jr, Vice President Sara Duterte and other national government agencies to squander the hard earned tax money of Filipinos that will go to the so-called confidential funds. Tama na, sobra na ang pork barrel, dapat nang alisin ang CIF na ginagawa lamang balon ng korapsyon ng mga opisyal na gobyerno,” according to KMP chairperson and Makabayan senatorial candidate Danilo Ramos.

Ramos reiterated that the CIF, the unprogrammed appropriations and other pork barrel in the 2025 budget are very vulnerable to corruption. According to the Makabayan bloc, more than P282 billion out of the P6.3 trillion proposed national budget will go to pork barrel. KMP said this budget will go to Marcos Jr’s election and war chest for 2025.

KMP also lambasted the gargantuan intelligence funds that are used for red-tagging and surveillance activities against progressives, activists, and government critics. In total, agencies attached to the OP will get a P12.9 billion — P8 billion for the NTF-ELCAC including the Barangay Development Program, P100 million for the National Security Council, and P300 million for the National Intelligence and Security Agency. Hindi katanggap-tanggap para sa mga magsasaka na mas malaki pa ang budget ng NTF-ELCAC kaysa sa budget ng National Food Authority. Mas makatwiran ang badyet para sa lokal na produksyon ng pagkain at hindi badyet para sa panunupil sa mamamayan,” Ramos added.

The peasant group said the CIF, the unprogrammed appropriations and other pork barrel items in the budget should be rechanneled to the budget for agriculture, local food production and social services. ###