Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The Duterte camp has resorted to "weaponizing" the Office of the Ombudsman against House of Representatives members, the vast majority of whom signed on to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.

Thus, said House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe on Thursday, Feb. 20 as he addressed anew the budget blanks-slash-insertions issue.

Dalipe specifically called out Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez for seeking before Ombudsman the suspension of House leaders over the alleged falsification of public documents in connection with the passage of the 2025 national budget.

The House leader said Alvarez’s suspension call “is a desperate attempt to weaponize the Ombudsman for political retaliation because the House remains steadfast in upholding transparency and accountability, regardless of political affiliations".

“Let’s be clear: the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is a product of rigorous, transparent, and lawful deliberations. The allegations of ‘insertions’ are misleading and baseless, designed to discredit Speaker [Martin] Romualdez and the House leadership for purely political ends. If there are genuine concerns, they should be addressed within the proper legislative processes, not through political harassment,” Dalipe said.

Alvarez used to be House Speaker during the early years of Rodrigo Duterte's term as president. Ex-president Duterte--like his daughter, the Vice President--are Marcos administration critics.

The Ombudsman, Samuel Martires, is an appointee of the elder Duterte.

Despite all of this, Dalipe expressed confidence that the Ombudsman would not allow itself to be used by Duterte allies.

“We trust that the Ombudsman will not allow itself to be used as a tool for political games and will dismiss this baseless request for preventive suspension. Speaker Romualdez and the House leadership will continue working for the people, unshaken by these desperate political maneuvers,” he said.

The majority leader also labelled the Alvarez complaint and suspension call as a tactic to divert attention away from the impeachment of Vice President Duterte.

“Clearly, they are using this complaint as a diversionary tactic to shift public attention away from the real issue—the impeachment case against the Vice President and the accountability questions she must answer,” he said.

Dalipe questioned the timing of the actions of Alvarez and Duterte allies.

“The timing of this complaint is telling. It is meant to pressure the House and create a false narrative that undermines the integrity of its leadership. However, we will not be intimidated by these tactics," he said.

"The House remains focused on serving the Filipino people, ensuring government funds are used properly, and holding public officials accountable, regardless of political connections,” he added.