"We have the moral high ground:" Pumaren says survey results on confidential fund realignment vindicate House
At A Glance
- Deputy Majority Leader Quezon City 3rd district Rep. Franz Pumaren stressed that the House of Representatives did the right thing in realigning confidential funds from the 2024 national budget.
Quezon City 3rd district Rep. Franz Pumaren (Facebook)
Deputy Majority Leader Quezon City 3rd district Rep. Franz Pumaren stressed that the House of Representatives did the right thing in realigning confidential funds from the 2024 national budget.
This, after the latest OCTA Research survey found that 57 percent of adult Filipinos agreed with the House’s decision to reallocate confidential funds into enforcement agencies patrolling and securing the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The P1.23 billion worth of realigned funds were originally allocated to civilian agencies with no law enforcement mandate.
“It’s a vindication for all of us in the House of Representatives, to say the least. As you know, we have been the political punching bag of some quarters, specifically Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who did nothing bad, and who only did his job,” Pumaren said in a statement, on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
“We have the moral high ground,” he emphasized.
Last month ex-president Rodrigo Duterte criticized Romualdez in a television program after the House’s decision to reallocate the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd). Both offices are under Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter.
The OCTA Research survey results also found that 72 percent of Filipinos were “fully aware” of the confidential funds issue.
“As far as we are concerned, this is a crucial and very important gauge for us, and an affirmation that we did the right thing,” the Quezon City solon said.
“Moreso, it also encourages us to continue on this righteous path in carrying out what is good for our fellow countrymen,” Pumaren added. --Dexter Barro II