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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House leaders clap back at Duterte, justify removal of VP's confidential funds 

House leaders clap back at Duterte, justify removal of VP's confidential funds 

Published Oct 14, 2023 02:52 pm

At A Glance

  • The House of Representatives' move to strip and realign the 2024 confidential funds of several agencies wasn't done to insult Vice President Sara Duterte, but rather to benefit the country. 

Local officials in Cebu want Duterte to run for Vice President in 2022Former president Rodrigo Duterte 

 

 

 

 



The House of Representatives' move to strip and realign the 2024 confidential funds of several agencies wasn't done to insult Vice President Sara Duterte, but rather to benefit the country. 

Thus, said "political party leaders" in the House of Representatives in a statement on Saturday night, Oct. 14, even as these same leaders clapped back at the Vice President's father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.  

"We, leaders of all political parties in the House of Representatives, take utmost exception to the remarks made by former President Rodrigo R. Duterte," read the statement released by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco a few days after the elder Duterte thumped the legislature with his signature tough talk. 

"The decision to reallocate confidential funds to security agencies, especially in the context of escalating tensions with China, was taken in the best interest of national security. It is essential to understand that this decision was made for the benefit of the nation and not as a personal affront to any individual, including Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio," the statement read. 

Neither the identities of the party leaders nor the political parties behind the statement was mentioned. Velasco is the highest-ranked civilian official in the House, which is one-half of Congress. The other half is the Senate. 
 

Reports reaching the Manila Bulletin on Sunday morning, Oct. 15 bared that Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), National Unity Party (NUP), Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI), Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party (NP), and Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) were behind the statement. 

In a television interview on Oct. 10, ex-president Duterte---who is the PDP-Laban chairman--linked Congress and House Speaker Martin Romualdez to alleged misuse of public funds. He claimed the that the legislature ought to be audited in order to show Filipinos how taxpayers' money is spent.  


Duterte also tagged Congress as “the most rotten institution” in the country. He accused Romualdez of orchestrating the attacks against Vice President Duterte.  

"Our institution, the House of Representatives, has been unwavering in its dedication to the Filipino people. It is deeply unfortunate that the former President chose to malign the very institution that for years supported many of his own legislative priorities," the statement further read. 

Vice President Duterte heads both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), being the concurrent education secretary. 

A "small committee" in the House of Representatives recently carried out a rationalization of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) that led to the reduction to zero of the confidential funds of the OVP and DepEd in the proposed 2024 national budget. 

"Aside from the [OVP] and the [DepEd], the House of Representatives also allocated zero confidential and intelligence funds to other civilian departments including Agriculture (DA), Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Information and Communications Technology (DICT)," read the statement released by Velasco. 

"Casting these decisions in a light of personal vendettas is a disservice to the diligent members of the House of the People and the very essence of our democratic process,"  it added, in obvious reference to former chief executive's tirades. 

"It is critical to remember that the 'pork barrel' system, which former President Duterte alluded to, has been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC). Our members are firmly committed to respecting and upholding this ruling. 

"Rather than making sweeping allegations in the media, we advise the former president, if he has tangible evidence of wrongdoing, to present it to the appropriate authorities," it further read. 

The unnamed House political party leaders also asked ex-president Duterte and all parties involved "to avoid making threats or insinuating harm against any member of the House or the institution itself". 

"Dialogue and understanding should always be at the forefront, superseding divisive rhetoric. Our foremost duty as public servants is to the Filipino people, and it is incumbent upon us to rise above personal and political divides to prioritize their welfare and the nation's advancement," they said in the statement. 

The elder Duterte served as president from 2016 to 2022.
 

Related Tags

House of Representatives Confidential funds House of Representative Rodrigo Duterte Sara Duterte
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