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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Masama po ba yun?': Dalipe asks whats wrong with tapping confidential funds to protect PH interests in WPS

'Masama po ba yun?': Dalipe asks whats wrong with tapping confidential funds to protect PH interests in WPS

Published Oct 18, 2023 07:40 am

At A Glance

  • House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe wondered out loud about what's wrong with the realignment of confidential funds for the purpose of securing the country's interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which former president Rodrigo Duterte apparently took issue with.

FB_IMG_1697614027439.jpgMajority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe (Facebook)

What's wrong with realigning confidential funds for the purpose of securing the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)?

House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe asked this question in light of former president Rodrigo Duterte's tirades against the House of Representatives, particularly on its decision to remove some P650 million worth of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd).

Dalipe said in a radio interview Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 17 that Duterte might have resented this move by the lower chamber, since both the OVP and DepEd are under Vice President Sara Duterte, the latter's daughter.

The Vice President had asked for P500 million in confidential funds for her office as the country’s number two official, plus P150 million for DepEd as the concurrent education secretary.

“Pero hindi lang naman [OVP] ang may change, Department of Agriculture (DA) meron ring pagbabago, tinanggalan rin ng [confidential fund]. 'Yung Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), isa rin 'yan, 'yung Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT),” Dalipe explained.

(But the OVP wasn't the sole agency that was changed, the DA was also changed and stripped of its confidential fund. The DFA is another one, and so is the DICT.)

He said the House realigned the confidential funds of civilian offices to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and intelligence agencies to strengthen protection of the country’s interests in the WPS, which has been the site of much tension with regional power China as of late.

“Ang tanong nga diyan, masama po ba 'yun? Hindi naman 'di ba? (The question there is, is that a bad thing to do? It isn't, right?)” asked the majority leader.

ALSO READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/18/house-saved-you-during-covid-crisis-dalipe-reminds-duterte

Dalipe said he and House Speaker Martin Romualdez--accompanied by other lawmakers and military officials--even flew to Pag-asa Island in Palawan earlier this month to check on the requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The Philippines keeps a contingent of soldiers on the island, which is part of the Kalayaan Island Group.

“Gusto naming makita kung totoo ba na kailangan ng suporta ng ating mga men in uniform doon, ng ating mga mangingisda at ibang mga tao natin doon. So we saw for ourselves and came up with the decision na kailangan natin dagdagan 'yung suporta sa AFP, sa intelligence community at iba pang mga ahensya na namamahala ng ating intelligence gathering. So doon po nilipat [yung confidential funds],” Dalipe said.

(We wanted to see if it was true that our men in uniform, fishers, and countrymen there needed support. So we saw for ourselves and came up with the decision that we need to augment support for the AFP, the intelligence community, and other agencies that govern our intelligence gathering. So that's where we realigned the confidential funds.)

He said that instead of criticizing his former House colleagues, Duterte should appeal for unity.

“Dapat yung mga statement niya, 'yung magkaisa, unity, sana hindi mag-away away,” said the Mindanaoan solon.

(His statement should be about unity, and hopefully not about quarreling with each other.)

The elder Duterte served as Davao congressman from 1998 to 2001.

Related Tags

mannix dalipe Confidential funds Rodrigo Duterte Sara Duterte west philippine sea
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