ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Salo holds nothing back in rebuke of Roque on confidential funds issue

Salo holds nothing back in rebuke of Roque on confidential funds issue

Published Oct 16, 2023 01:00 pm

At A Glance

  • Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo has assailed former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for claiming that the House of Representatives was politicizing the removal of Vice President Sara Duterte's confidential funds under the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB). 

20231016_205028.jpgKabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo (left), former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque (Rep. Salo's office, Facebook)

Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo has assailed former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for claiming that the House of Representatives was politicizing the removal of Vice President Sara Duterte's confidential funds under the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

“Harry Roque's allegations of politicization within the House of Representatives are not only unfounded but profoundly hypocritical, especially in light of his past membership in the very institution he now criticizes,” Salo said in a statement Monday night, Oct. 16.

Salo questioned the credibility of Roque, who was a fellow nominee and representative of Kabayan Party-list.

Salo questioned the credibility of Roque, who was once a fellow nominee and representative of Kabayan Party-list.

The solon noted that Roque was expelled from the party due to his conduct during a congressional probe into the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in 2017.

“It’s ironic that someone with such a history now seeks to lecture the House on political matters,” Salo said, clearly showing that there was no love lost between the two.

“The House’s decision to remove the confidential funds was executed in strict adherence to established protocols and, above all, to serve the best interests of the Filipino people, free from any political ulterior motives, after thorough public hearings,” he pointed out.

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

Vice President Duterte, a known friend of Roque, heads both the OVP and DepEd.

Salo also deemed as “highly inappropriate and baseless” Roque’s assertion that extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses pose a more significant concern for public accountability than confidential funds.

Salo also questioned the motive of Roque in issuing baseless allegations against the House.

“Roque’s inflammatory statements appear to be more of a publicity stunt. Perhaps he wants to relish his days when he was still the presidential spokesperson and the center of media attention,” the Kabayan lawmaker said.

Salo concluded by telling the public to “focus on government transparency and accountability, rather than being swayed by baseless allegations".

Related Tags

Harry Roque ron Salo Kabayan Party-List Confidential funds Sara Duterte
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.