The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday shrugged off the decision of the Bicameral conference committee on their proposed confidential funds in the final version of the 2024 national budget.

On Monday, the committee approved and adopted the final version of the proposed PHP 5.768-trillion 2024 General Appropriations Act, which excluded confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) for non-security agencies. It was later ratified by the Congress.

In response, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas echoed the prior statement during the Senate hearing of their department saying that it can survive even without the confidential funds worth PHP 150 million that Vice President and Education Sec. Sara Duterte proposed.

"Hindi naman siya kawalan so we have already accepted that during the last hearing we had in the Senate. That is why we proposed for its reallocation to critical program of the department, particularly the national learning recovery program," Bringas said in an interview with another media outlet.

It can be recalled that the House of Representatives first stripped off the confidential and and intelligence funds (CIF) of government agencies that have no connection to intelligence or information and data gathering and are not mandated to protect national sovereignty.