La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega on Thursday, Feb. 13, denied claims that House members who did not sign on for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte would no longer be receiving social welfare assistance from the national government.

“I doubt. Hindi naman ganon ‘yun (It doesn’t work that way),” Ortega said in a press conference.

He also says that House members' decisions are based on the pulse of their constituents.

“Parang ako, pulso po ng distrito ko yung ginagawa kong basehan para dito (For my part, I base it on the pulse of my district),” he said.

According to Ortega, House members have already set up their own programs in their areas of jurisdiction and do not depend on the national government for assistance.

Pro-Duterte social media users and personalities have been claiming that House members who supported the impeachment of the Vice President were promised to receive more budget from the national government.

Following the House of Representatives’ impeachment of Duterte last Feb. 5, a fake Facebook account purportedly belonging to Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan claimed that House Speaker Martin Romualdez assured them of additional budget.

Suan denied owning such an account and said that the statement was not true.

Ortega said that House members would not become congressmen if they only relied on the national government for their problems.

“May mga kanya kanyang programa naman po kami. Kanya kanyang desisyon po yan. Wala pong pilitan, wala pong pwersahan (We have our own programs. We have our own decision, and there is no coercion),” he said.