ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro stated on Wednesday that the former administration’s confidential and intelligence funds, if allocated differently, could have provided a P1,000 monthly city allowance to approximately 17,000 teachers in Davao City for over 13 years.

“This funding could have significantly improved the quality of education by ensuring that teachers had access to essential teaching materials and resources, ultimately benefiting countless students in Davao City,” Castro said.

She highlighted that the P2.697 billion designated as confidential funds from 2016 to 2022 for the mayor of Davao City could have been better utilized to support the education sector, particularly benefiting teachers.

Castro also criticized the Duterte family for allegedly using billions in confidential and intelligence funds during their tenure as Davao City mayors.

“Davao’s intelligence funds were P109,500,000 in 2011; P113,000,000 in 2012; P115,000,000 in 2013; P120,000,000 in 2014; and P144,000,000 in 2015,” she noted.

“By 2016, Davao had already allocated P144 million in confidential funds, which grew to P2.697 billion by 2022. VP Duterte even requested an illegal P125 million confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President,” Castro added.

“From 2016 until now, VP Duterte has received over P3 billion in confidential funds, yet we have no proof of proper usage,” she concluded.