Former president Rodrigo Duterte turned combatant once again as he challenged the House of Representatives to “open the books,” referring to its financial documents, and accused its members of having pork barrel after the House removed Vice President Sara Duterte’s proposed multi-million confidential funds for 2024.

Former For Former president Rodrigo Duterte (Malacañang photo)

In the latest episode of SMNI News Channel’s “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” the former chief executive lamented how lawmakers treated and disrespected his daughter.

“Hindi nyo nirespeto ang anak ako. Hindi naman niya nagastos... Why did you humiliate and embarrass my daughter? Hindi naman naghihingi ang anak ko ng posisyon, ibinigay sa kanya (You did not respect my daughter. She did not spend it… Why did you humiliate and embarrass my daughter? My daughter did not ask for a position, it was given to her),” he claimed.

It is unclear if the former president was referring to Duterte’s position as Education secretary, a title she has held in a concurrent capacity since she and President Marcos won landslide victories in 2022.

Reports said Duterte had asked Marcos for the defense chief position, but this was not granted by the current Chief Executive.

The elder Duterte continued to lambast Congress, two weeks after he said in the same show that he would demand an audit if Marcos’ cousin and House Speaker Martin Romualdez decides to run for president.

He also claimed that the Speaker had filled the lawmakers’ bellies with money.

“H’wag na tayong magbolahan (Let’s not fool each other). We want to know the truth. Sabi ninyo wala, sabi ko meron, buksan ninyo ang libro (You said there’s no (pork barrel), I said there is, open the books). Period,” the elder Duterte said.

“A dog by any other tag is still the dog. The best way to find out really ‘what is the mystery of this pork barrel or ang tinatawag na (or what is called) ‘extraordinary expenses’? When does it occur? What is the occurrence of an 'extraordinary' expense? yan. Ang tawag na ninyo noon, 'pork barrel’ (there. You used to call it ‘pork barrel’),” he added.

According to a document from the Commission on Audit (COA), extraordinary expenses “includes, but not limited to, expenses incurred for or during meetings, seminars and conferences, official entertainment, public relation, educational, athletic and cultural activities, contributions to civic or charitable institutions, membership fees in government associations, subscriptions to professional magazines, library books and materials, office equipment and supplies and other similar expenses that are not supported by the regular budget allocations.”

Two weeks ago, after the former president lambasted lawmakers, leaders of different political parties released a statement justifying their realignment of the Vice President’s proposed confidential funds and asking the elder Duterte to air his grievances in the proper forums.

They also balked at the accusations that the House is “the most rotten institution” in the country, and reminded the former chief executive of how they supported his Covid-19 response strategies and other legislative priorities.

The elder Duterte’s accusations against lawmakers came after the House appropriations committee stripped the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) of their combined P650-million proposed confidential funds for 2024 because of questions arising from the Vice President’s use of the P125 million confidential funds transferred to her by the Office of the President in December 2022.

This amount was spent in just 19 days, the OVP has admitted in a House budget hearing.