ADMINISTRATION lawmakers yesterday questioned Vice President Sara Duterte’s “deafening” silence on China’s illegal incursions in the West Philippine Sea and transnational crimes committed by Chinese citizens in the country.
The latest incident of Chinese aggression against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea was strongly condemned by President Marcis Jr on Sunday.
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V scoffed at the Vice President’s apparent avoidance of issues concerning the country’s sovereignty and national security, saying she should be pro-Filipino and not pro-Chinese.
“Parang nakabibingi ‘yung katahimikan (Her silence seems deafening),” Ortega told a joint press conference with Reps. Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur) and Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol). “Lahat naman tayo dito mahal natin ang Pilipinas. Dapat Filipino ang kampihan, dapat pro-‘Pinas tayo (All of us here love the Philippines. We should side with the Filipino, we should be pro-Philippines).”
Ortega also dismissed rumors of an impending impeachment case against the Vice President, after a social media post by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque suggested that an impeachment move against the country’s second highest official could be in the works.
“I looked to the left, I looked to the right and there’s nothing. We’re sticking to the facts, of course, we’re sticking to the issues in the House of Representatives, and nothing like that was discussed,” he said in mixed Filipino ang English.
However, he acknowledged it would not be entirely surprising if someone did try to file an impeachment case against the Vice President, given the current political climate.
The Vice President has kept silent about Chinese harassment of Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), including last week’s incident wherein China’s air force deployed flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force plane patrolling over Bajo de Masinloc.
She has also remained silent on the reported link between drug trafficking and other heinous crimes associated with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that proliferated during her father’s administration, as well as extrajudicial killings tied to the Rodrigo Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign — issues which prompted the House to task four committees to carry out a joint investigation.
Adiong, who chairs the House ad hoc committee on Marawi rehabilitation and victims compensation, said the Vice President’s silence on the critical issues are both disappointing and unbecoming of a leader.
“Personally, I’m trying to question why, apart from all of these things happening… she remains silent about it,” he said.
“She is the second highest public official of the land, next to the President, and her position on these is very important. Whether her silence will be treated as apathy, that would definitely spell out and define the kind of leader that she is,” he added.
Adiong said now is the time for all Filipinos to “call for patriotism to voice our sentiment in joining this administration’s fight against Chinese aggression, outside and within our country.”
LOYALTY
For his part, Bongalon said the Vice President is expected to release statements defending the country’s sovereignty from foreign invaders “but for the longest time, since she became Vice President on July 1, 2022, have you heard her speak against China?”
“Ang sagot po, wala! (The answer, is none!)” Bongalon said, stressing that having a stand on such issues “stands in stark contrast to the strong condemnation from other leaders, leaving Filipinos to question where her loyalties lie.”
“Wouldn’t Filipinos wonder why, until now, the Vice President has not issued any statement about issues in the WPS? So what does this mean? Filipinos are not dumb. They know what that means,” he said in Filipino.
The Vice President earned the ire of lawmakers last week when she stepped up criticisms against the administration, saying the people “deserve better.” She assailed the government’s performance on a number of issues, including health care, poverty, and flood control.
She has also blamed the administration for the investigation of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) into her father’s bloody war on drugs. She accused the administration of allowing foreigners to meddle in the country’s internal affairs amid reports that it cannot stop the Interpol if the ICC seeks its assistance in going after her father and others who were tagged responsible for the thousands of deaths caused by his war against illegal drugs.
In retaliation, administration allies said they are planning to conduct a stringent review of the budget of the Office of the Vice President, and it will be on top of a joint investigation of four committees tasked by the plenary to look into the major issues hounding the previous Duterte administration: Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and the crimes associated with it, proliferation of illegal drugs, and the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
EDUCATION PROBLEMS
Bongalon said the younger Duterte’s repeated ranting and obvious “self-entitled pronouncements on governance matters are the last thing the country needs.”
He said the Vice President suddenly became critical of the administration when her interests were no longer served.
“Why are we hearing all these only now? It only shows what kind of politician she is. She will make it appear that she’s an ally if it will only suit her interests, then attack when she no longer needs it. She has just shown her true colors,” Bongalon said.
Bongalon reminded Duterte that all these sour-grape issues are “counter-productive” when problems in the Education sector could have been partially addressed if not solved totally during her reign, considering she had been enjoying massive popularity ratings.
He said perennial teacher welfare problems, including long working hours, a high teacher-student ratio, the burden of administrative tasks, promotion opportunities, and commensurate compensation, should have been addressed during her reign.
“Show some humility, Ms. VP! Your complaints could have been addressed, and they could have resulted in more productive endeavors if you had raised them early on. Don’t make government your punching bag,” he said. “When you were DepEd (Department of Education) chief, did you even attempt to improve learning competencies?”
He said the Vice President should not be “ungrateful to the government.” “Anyway, it’s government — whose lifeblood (taxes) is sourced from taxpayers’ hard-earned money — that has been responsible for paying the salaries of your nearly 400 bodyguards,” he said.
33 YEARS
Bongalon also asked why the Vice President is blaming the administration for what she described as an unfunded Davao City anti-flood program, when her family has ruled over the city for over 33 years and counting.
“How many years has the Duterte family been in position in Davao City? If I’m not mistaken, 33 years,” he said.
He also disclosed that Davao City has one of the largest shares in the internal revenue allotment (IRA) among cities in the whole of the Philippines.
“That budget alone can fund the flood-control project, and so why are you blaming the present administration?” he said.
The younger Duterte earlier insinuated that the reason the administration is not funding the Davao anti-flood masterplan is because a Duterte is serving as mayor, referring to her brother Sebastian.
Bongalon said that in fact, VP Duterte’s other brother Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has infrastructure allocations totaling P51 billion during the last three years of their father’s term.
“Now, the question is, where did it go? Did part of that go to flood-control projects? P51 billion, imagine, with that huge amount of public funds, why was the flooding in Davao not addressed?” he said.
