Former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday questioned the government’s use of P11.8 billion in confidential and intelligence funds after authorities admitted they had no prior intelligence on the Iglesia ni Cristo rally that disrupted traffic along EDSA.
Drilon said the government has repeatedly justified large intelligence allocations as necessary to detect security threats, prevent public disorder and anticipate major disruptions.
“Yet, the police themselves admitted there was zero intelligence on this rally, despite billions in intelligence funds. Where did the intelligence funds go? Billions were spent on intelligence funds. The public deserves intelligent results, not surprises,” Drilon said.
Citing the 2026 General Appropriations Act, Drilon said the national government allocated around ₱11.8 billion for confidential and intelligence funds this year.
Of the amount, the Office of the President received the biggest share at P4.5 billion, or about 38 percent of the total CIF allocation. The Department of National Defense was allocated P1.848 billion, while the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency received P1.47 billion.
“The Office of the President alone controls P4.5 billion in intelligence funds. If a major mobilization that effectively shut down the country’s busiest highway caught the government by surprise, the taxpayer has every right to ask whether these funds are being used effectively,” Drilon said.
“If government agencies failed to detect, anticipate, or prepare for an event of this magnitude, then there is clearly a serious failure in intelligence,” he added.
Drilon urged the Commission on Audit to examine intelligence expenditures with the same rigor it applied to the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President under Vice President Sara Duterte.
The use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President is among the issues raised in the pending impeachment proceedings against Duterte in the Senate.
Drilon also called for the activation of the Senate oversight committee on confidential and intelligence funds to look into what he described as repeated intelligence failures by government agencies.
He said the failure to anticipate the INC rally should be viewed alongside other gaps in law enforcement and intelligence operations, including the government’s difficulty in tracking high-profile personalities such as Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang.
For Drilon, the issue is not only the size of the intelligence budget but whether the agencies receiving the funds are producing results.
“The public has every right to know whether these funds are being used effectively,” he said.