CONFIDENTIAL FUNDS | Supreme Court mulls consolidating petitions vs. confidential funds

December 13, 2023 , 05:33 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(December 13, 2023) – The Supreme Court (SC) would look into consolidating all three petitions challenging the constitutionality of the confidential funds given to the vice president last year.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said the high court was waiting for the respondent government agencies to file comments on the petitions for certiorari, which sought to declare the confidential funds unconstitutional.

“Pag-aaralan pa namin kung ico-consolidate o separately (ang petitions), kasi iba-iba ‘yung issues na tinatalakay,” Gesmundo said. “Titingnan recommendation ng ibang justices.”

Gesmundo said the high court would also look into whether oral arguments are needed before resolving the petitions.

Three petitions have been filed in the SC stemming from the the Office of the President’s (OP) move to allow the budget department to release P125 million in confidential funds to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) last year, although there was no line item in the OVP for confidential funds under the 2022 national budget.

The first petition, filed by a group of 11 legal and economic experts led by 1987 Constitution framer Christian Monsod last month, argued that the fund transfer was a “clear usurpation” of the Congress’ power of the purse.

The second petition was filed by retired SC senior associate justice Antonio Carpio along with other legal professionals, who asked the high court to declare the 2015 joint circular that set the guidelines for confidential funds, which they said exempted the secret funds from the public’s right to access to information.

The petitioners also asked the SC to void the 2016 freedom of information (FOI) order under former president Rodrigo Duterte for making the same exemption.

Earlier this week, former and incumbent lawmakers from the Left-leaning Makabayan Bloc lodged the third petition against the confidential funds, assailing OVP’s 2022 confidential funds and asking the SC to allow the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit the confidential funds as regular funds.

Reacting to the first petition, Duterte said she “welcomed” what she described as an “opportunity” to discuss the legal basis of the fund transfer.

Critics have opposed the allocation of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) in civilian government agencies, supposedly intended for use by security agencies, noting that these funds are exempted from standard auditing rules and as such could potentially lead to corruption.

The proposed national budget for next year allocated a total of P9.8 billion for CIFs in both civilian and security agencies, of which nearly half were earmarked under OP.

(MM)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.