Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said on Saturday, Sept. 16, that he highly trusts that Vice President Sara Duterte can implement the programs of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) without wasting any public funds.
This in relation to the OVP's confidential expenses in 2022 which were questioned recently by Senator Risa Hontiveros and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro as it was not provided under last year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Hontiveros further criticized the OVP for finding its own job of defending their budget from critics as “amusing".
"Sa kabila ng samu't saring usapan hinggil sa confidential funds, ang importante ay magamit ito sa tama (Despite the various discussions about confidential funds, what's important is that it gets used properly)," Go said in a statement.
He said that Duterte has the integrity to spend the funds the right way.
Go added that this is the reason why he supported their proposed budget during the deliberations in the Senate last week.
"Ang mahalaga ay mapakinabangan ng taumbayan ang pondong inilaan sa tamang paraan (It's imperative that the public benefits from these funds and used the right way)," Go stressed.
Former Senate president Franklin Drilon and Senate minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III have already said that the transfer of funds from the Office of the President (OP) to the OVP is illegal and unconstitutional.
Go is the former special aide of former president Rodrigo Duterte, the father of Vice President Duterte.