VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday said now is not the time for “politicking” as administration lawmakers continued their word war with her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, over the decision of the House of Representatives to realign the P500 million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and other agencies at the forefront of defending the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
“Hinihikayat ko ang bawat isa sa inyo na tutukan ang paghahanda sa darating na panahon ng taghirap lalo na sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain at iba pang bilihin. May oras para sa lahat at hindi ito ang panahon ng paninira at pamumulitika lalo na malayo pa ang susunod na eleksyon (I urge everyone to focus on the trying times ahead, especially because of the unabated rise in the prices of food and other commdities),” the Vice President said in a Facebook post.
The younger Duterte said she understands where her supporters are coming from when they expressed opposition to what she said was the House’s “meddling” in the issue of the OVP’s confidential funds.
The Vice President, however, did not say that the power of the purse exclusively belongs to Congress, which has the constitutional authority to review the proposed annual national budget of the Executive.
“Naiintindihan ko ang inyong pagkadismaya at galit hinggil sa mga isyu tulad ng pakikialam sa budget at usapin ng confidential fund (I understand your dismay and anger about issues like meddling in the budget and talks about confidential fund),” she said. “Maraming salamat sa mga gumawa ng green ribbons bilang pagpapahayag ng supporta sa akin (Thank you very much to those who tied green ribbons to express their support for me.)”
The Vice President had asked for P500 million in confidential funds (CFs) for the OVP and P150 million for the Department of Education which she also heads as concurrent education secretary.
Duterte said “political challenges” pales in comparison to the negative effects of the Israel-Hamas war to the country’s economy and the still ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“May oras para sa lahat at hindi ito ang panahon ng paninira at pamumulitika lalo na malayo pa ang susunod na eleksyon. Higit na mahalaga ang ating pagkakaisa, pagtutulungan, at pagiging handa para tiyaking ang ating mga pamilya ay ligtas at matatag sa darating na mga buwan (There is a time for everything, and this is not the time for smear campaigns and politicking, especially since the next (national) elections is still far away. Our unity, cooperation, and our preparedness to ensure that our families are safe and strong in the next months is a lot more important),” she said.
Administration lawmakers have been coming out not only to denounce the death threats made by former president Rodrigo against members of the Makabayan bloc, particularly Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT), but also to reiterate their full support for the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In defending s request of his daughter for confidential funds, the elder Duterte was quoted as saying in an interview that the confidential funds for the DepEd requested by his daughter would be used for the reestablishment of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
(ROTC) and to fight off communist recruiters in the educational system.
The former president was also quoted as saying that he told his daughter that she should have been candid and told the Makabayan bloc that they are really the target of the confidential funds and that he wants to kill Castro and all groups he branded as communists.
He likewise accused Romualdez of attacking the Vice President for being perceived as a “good” presidential candidate in 2028 since the Speaker wants to run for president. The elder Duterte also alleged that the House has a hidden “pork barrel” and called it the “most rotten” institution in the country even if the Supreme Court has already outlawed the system.
Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco, Jr. stressed that that the House has the constitutional mandate to exercise the power of the purse together with the Senate and decide on the use of confidential funds in response to public clamor.
“A determined 19th Congress resolutely led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez felt and heard the clamor of the people to prioritize the use of some available confidential funds for emergencies, calamities, and crisis situations, and not for the restriction of individual freedoms and rights,” said the lawmaker, a vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Haresco also reiterated that the responsibility and authority to protect our national security primarily belongs to our security forces “and not to be burdened on civilian executive agencies.”
“Even in the past, the confidential funds of the executive branch of government have been meticulously and conscientiously decided by Congress. It is simply a matter of checks and balances indicative of a healthy democracy,” the economist-solon said.
‘HOUSE SAVED DIGONG’
House majority leader Manuel Jose Dalipe reminded the elder Duterte that lawmakers who were members of the 18th Congress “saved the day” for the former president when COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe in early 2020.
“Many of us now in the 19th Congress also served in the 18th Congress when former president Duterte was still president and he knows what we did, we supported all that he needed in the legislative agenda all the way and during the time of COVID, Congress supported him so we’re wondering why he suddenly looks at us congressmen differently,” he told a radio interview in Filipino.
He lamented the ex-president’s statements against the House, reminding the elder Duterte that congressmen extended all-out support to him even before the pandemic: “We never left him, and we made sure that the Duterte administration had enough budget during the time of COVID so that there were funds for financial assistance to the people.”
The first two COVID-19 response measures the House passed were Bayanihan 1 (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act) and Bayanihan 2 (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act), enacted in March and July 2020.
Dalipe pointed out that the Vice President was not singled out since other agencies and departments like the Department of Agriculture, which is headed by no less than President Marcos Jr., himself as concurrent agriculture secretary, was also stripped of its confidential funds, along with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
VISAYAN BLOC SUPPORT
Eastern Visayas lawmakers also expressed their “unwavering support for Speaker Martin Romualdez and his exceptional leadership of the House of Representatives.”
“Throughout his tenure as Speaker, Speaker Romualdez has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to serving the Filipino people and advancing the legislative agenda of our nation. His strong leadership has been instrumental in steering the House towards productive and collaborative sessions, leading to the passage of vital legislation that addresses the diverse needs of our constituents in Eastern Visayas and beyond,” the joint statement said.
The statement was signed by Leyte Reps. Lolita Javier, Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon, Richard Gomez, and Carl Nicolas Cari; Samar Reps. Stephen James Tan and Michael Reynolds Tan; Southern Leyte Reps. Luz Mercado and Christopherson Yap; Eastern Samar Rep. Maria Fe Abunda; Northern Samar Reps. Paul Daza and Harris Christopher Ongchuan; and Biliran Rep. Gerardo Espina Jr.
The lawmakers commended Romualdez “for his commitment to unifying House members, transcending political affiliations, and facilitating bipartisan consensus on vital issues.”
For his part, Ongchuan, who is a member of the minority, denounced “any efforts to misrepresent the initiatives of the House of Representatives under the 19th Congress,” saying doing so “just veers us away from our duty of being Representatives of the Filipino people.”
He stressed the importance of clarity and transparency regarding the recent allegations against the legislative chamber, maintaining that the House “does not have any confidential funds.”
In a joint statement, a total of 12 members from the influential Cebu bloc and all three representatives from Bohol also underscored Romualdez’s “exemplary leadership and dedication in advancing the nation’s legislation, programs, and projects, and promoting the welfare of every Filipino.”
“We, the Cebu bloc, including representatives from the Province of Bohol, stand firm and united in the House of Representatives under the dynamic and transparent leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, towards the upliftment of the lives of the Filipino people,” the statement read.
The statement bore the signatures of all seven Cebu province lawmakers, namely Reps. Rhea Mae A. Gullas, Edsel Galleos, Pablo John Garcia, Janice Salimbangon, Deputy Speaker Vincent Franco Frasco, Daphne Lagon, and Peter John D. Calderon.
Other signatories were Reps. Emmarie Ouano-Dizon (Mandaue City), Eduardo R. Rama Jr. (Cebu City), Sonny Lagon (PL, Ako Bisaya), Maria Cynthia Chan (Lapu-Lapu City), Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (PL, TUCP), and Bohol Reps. Edgardo M. Chatto, Maria Vanessa Aumentado, and Kristine Alexie Tutor.
