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Black budget
A black budget or covert appropriation is a government budget that is allocated for classified or other secret operations of a state. The black budget is an account of expenses and spending related to military research and covert operations. The black budget is mostly classified because of security reasons.
A black budget can be complicated to calculate, but in the United States it has been estimated to be over US$50 billion a year, taking up approximately 7 percent of the US$700 billion military budget.
The black budget are known in the Philippines as confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs). It refer to budgetary allocations disbursed to government agencies, including civilian offices and security institutions, for activities related to national security, surveillance, and intelligence-gathering. These funds are exempt from standard auditing procedures due to the sensitive nature of the operations they support.
The use of CIFs is authorised under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) passed annually by the Congress of the Philippines. The Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of National Defense, the Governance Commission for GOCCs and the Commission on Audit further outlines their usage through Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which classify such funds into two categories:
These funds are subject to guidelines issued by the Commission on Audit (COA), but their oversight remains limited compared to other public expenditures due to the need for confidentiality.
While the COA retains the authority to audit CIFs, actual documentation is often redacted or classified, and auditing is conducted with discretion. Reports are submitted to select congressional oversight bodies, such as the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds, Programmes and Activities.
In recent years, civil society groups, media organisations, and watchdogs have raised concerns over the growing use of CIFs, particularly in civilian offices such as the Office of the President of the Philippines and the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines. Critics argue that the opacity of these funds renders them vulnerable to misuse and corruption, with limited avenues for public scrutiny. In 2025, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a city mayor for corruption in relation to confidential and intelligence funds.
The allocation of substantial CIFs to non-security agencies has sparked public debate. In particular, the allocation of confidential funds to top executive officials, including the President and Vice President, has been criticised as lacking transparency. Calls have been made for stricter guidelines, greater congressional oversight, and an independent audit mechanism to ensure the proper utilisation of taxpayer funds. One notable occurrence was in the controversial use of CIFs by Vice President Sara Duterte from 2022 to 2023, which led to her impeachment in 2025.
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Black budget
A black budget or covert appropriation is a government budget that is allocated for classified or other secret operations of a state. The black budget is an account of expenses and spending related to military research and covert operations. The black budget is mostly classified because of security reasons.
A black budget can be complicated to calculate, but in the United States it has been estimated to be over US$50 billion a year, taking up approximately 7 percent of the US$700 billion military budget.
The black budget are known in the Philippines as confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs). It refer to budgetary allocations disbursed to government agencies, including civilian offices and security institutions, for activities related to national security, surveillance, and intelligence-gathering. These funds are exempt from standard auditing procedures due to the sensitive nature of the operations they support.
The use of CIFs is authorised under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) passed annually by the Congress of the Philippines. The Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of National Defense, the Governance Commission for GOCCs and the Commission on Audit further outlines their usage through Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which classify such funds into two categories:
These funds are subject to guidelines issued by the Commission on Audit (COA), but their oversight remains limited compared to other public expenditures due to the need for confidentiality.
While the COA retains the authority to audit CIFs, actual documentation is often redacted or classified, and auditing is conducted with discretion. Reports are submitted to select congressional oversight bodies, such as the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds, Programmes and Activities.
In recent years, civil society groups, media organisations, and watchdogs have raised concerns over the growing use of CIFs, particularly in civilian offices such as the Office of the President of the Philippines and the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines. Critics argue that the opacity of these funds renders them vulnerable to misuse and corruption, with limited avenues for public scrutiny. In 2025, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a city mayor for corruption in relation to confidential and intelligence funds.
The allocation of substantial CIFs to non-security agencies has sparked public debate. In particular, the allocation of confidential funds to top executive officials, including the President and Vice President, has been criticised as lacking transparency. Calls have been made for stricter guidelines, greater congressional oversight, and an independent audit mechanism to ensure the proper utilisation of taxpayer funds. One notable occurrence was in the controversial use of CIFs by Vice President Sara Duterte from 2022 to 2023, which led to her impeachment in 2025.