Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (PPAB)

Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre is bewildered by Vice President Sara Duterte's utter confidence that she will get an acquittal in her upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

This is because Vice President Duterte cannot even clearly explain during a House inquiry "how her office spent hundreds of millions in confidential funds in just 11 days", according to Acidre.

“What’s puzzling is the arrogance of certainty coming from the Vice President. You cannot claim vindication when you have yet to offer a full and truthful accounting of public funds entrusted to your office,” added the House assistant majority leader in a statement Tuesday, April 22.

Citing seven allegations, the 300-strong House of Representatives impeached the lady official last Feb. 5. The other legislative chamber, the Senate, is set to hold the impeachment trial after President Marcos' State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.

One of the allegations is the alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds during Duterte’s tenure as Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) secretary.

Acidre slammed Vice President Duterte's repeated use of vague defenses--such as invoking national security--and evasion on the issue.

“Public officials are stewards of taxpayer money. When questioned, the proper response is transparency, not evasion. It’s not enough to say ‘I did my job.’ She must show us how, when and where those millions were spent,” he said.

Acidre also criticized Duterte’s tendency to downplay the seriousness of the allegations. 

“The Vice President continues to treat this as a political drama. But for the people who pay their taxes every day, this is about accountability and trust,” added the solon from Visayas. 

“This is not a popularity contest: it is a constitutional process grounded in facts. The impeachment complaint did not materialize in a vacuum. It came after exhaustive hearings, testimonies and evidence pointing to clear irregularities," he further said.

Chiding the second highest ranked official of the land, Acidre reckoned that tough talk isn't enough to get herself out of her predicament.

“Hindi sapat ang tapang sa salita. Ang kailangan ng taong-bayan ay tapang na magsabi ng totoo at magpaliwanag. Hindi nga niya maipaliwanag nang maayos kung saan napunta ang pondo,” he said.

(Tough talk isn't enough. What the people need is the courage to speak the truth and explain. She couldn't even properly clarify where the funds went.)

Acidre also urged the Vice President to stop framing the issue as an attack on Mindanao or her gender, saying such narratives only distract from the real questions.

“Walang kinalaman ang regional or personal identity sa isyung ito. Ang pinag-uusapan dito ay pananagutan ng isang opisyal na tumanggap ng pondo para sa mga sensitibong operasyon, pero walang malinaw na detalye kung paano ito ginamit."

(Regional or personal identity has nothing to do with this issue. What is being discussed here is the accountability of an official who received funds for sensitive operations, yet there are no clear details on how they were used.)

Acidre reiterated the House’s duty to uphold the Constitution and ensure that all officials – regardless of rank–are held to the same standard of accountability.

“This is about defending the sanctity of public service. We cannot allow public trust to be eroded by unaccounted secrecy,” he said.