KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel on Wednesday sought the realignment of P4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds in the 2023 budget to the education sector.

The fund includes 50.2 percent of the P8.969 billion proposed budget for the Office of the President.

“Ang magnitude ng P4.5 billion, ito po ay equivalent sa salary increase ng 460,000 teachers, na isa sa campaign promises ng kasalukuyang administrasyon. Equivalent din po ito sa 368,000 na non-teaching personnel na pwedeng mabigyan ng salary increase, 6,800 classrooms na puwedeng marepair o marehabilitate, 31,200 sets of school seats, paghire ng 9,300 nurses para
sa ating mga paaralan, 1.6 million additional beneficiaries ng DSWD educational assistance o 440,000 na recipients ng Php 10,000 student aid,” Manuel said.

Manuel pointed out that the OP is the NTF-ELCAC’s secretariat.

He said that fund transfers to the NTF-ELCAC from other agencies should be monitored to ensure transparency.