House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook, PPAB)

Did Speaker Martin Romualdez take a swipe at Vice President Sara Duterte during the final House session day of the year?

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, Romualdez took to plenary to deliver his customary pre-recess address.

In his speech, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president gave a rather impassioned defense on the allocation by Congress and the provision by the government of billions in financial assistance to millions of financially-strapped Filipinos.

Romualdez says these "ayuda" funds are handled by agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Health (DOH).

“Sa mga kontra sa ayuda, handang ipakita ng administrasyong ito kung saan napunta ang bawat sentimong inilaan para rito. Ang may hawak ng pondo, ang mga departmento tulad ng DSWD, DOLE at DOH. Sila ang nagpapatakbo ng programa, hindi ang Kongreso,” he said.

(To those who are against the grant of financial assistance, the administration is ready to show where every centavo of these funds were used. Departments like the DSWD, DOLE, and DOH are the ones that handle these funds. They run the program, not Congress.)

“Lahat ng programang ito a may totoong benepisyaryo. May totoong resibo. Walang notice of disallowance mula sa Commission on Audit (COA)," added Romualdez, triggering a roar of approval from his fellow House members.

(All of these programs have real beneficiaries. The receipts are real. There is no notice of disallowance from COA.)

"Ang trabaho ng Kongreso: Tiyakin ang pondo rito at masiguro na nakakarating nang maayos sa mga benepisyaryo,” he further said.

(Congress' job is this: To ensure that these funds properly reach their intended beneficiaries.)

Romualdez’s remarks appeared to be a reference to Vice President Duterte's recent woes in the House of Representatives, particularly in connection with confidential and intelligence funds.

For months now, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability has been investigating the alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd). 

Duterte served as education secretary from June 30, 2022 to July 19, 2024.

In the course of the hearings, panel members assailed the OVP for its notice of disallowance covering P125 million of the P612.5 million secret funds. The notice is the COA's why of flagging the use of the funds and asking for its return.

One of the signatories on the acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by the OVP to COA was "Mary Grace Piattos"--a mash-up of the names of a local restaurant and a brand of potato chips. 

Recently, the solons also learned that nearly two-thirds of individuals listed as recipients of P500 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Vice President Sara Duterte have no birth records.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as per the request of the House panel, carried out verification on civil registry records of 1,992 individuals linked to the controversial fund, and in the process found out that 1,322 individuals lacked birth records in its database. 

Romualdez told ayuda critics and the nation in general that the Marcos administration is ready to account for the money spent for financial assistance.