The Makabayan bloc has called out Vice President Sara Duterte--who is the subject of impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives--for playing the victim card.

This, after Duterte asserted hat the House inquiry on her alleged confidential funds misuse were just a "conspiracy" and a "political weapon" wielded against her.

"These are rehashed lines—'gasgas na script (an overplayed script)'—meant to evade accountability by playing the victim," the Makabayan said in a statement Saturday, March 7.

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co comprise the bloc in the current 20th Congress.

“Confidential funds involve public money. When millions are requested, rushed, and shrouded in secrecy, the Filipino people have every right to demand answers,” they said.

They argue that labeling congressional oversight as a “fishing expedition” does not erase the questions; it only strengthens the need for scrutiny.

"VP Duterte insists impeachment came first before evidence, but the record shows otherwise: the red flags raised questions about the size of the funds, the speed of releases, their purpose, and the safeguards against misuse—issues that demand clear answers precisely because confidential spending is difficult to independently verify," Makabayan said.

Duterte's purported misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds is among the more prominent allegations in her impeachment complaints.

Tinio and his colleagues said Duterte’s repeated invocation of “unmodified opinions” from the Commission on Audit (COA) was also misleading. "An unmodified opinion is not a blanket certification that no wrongdoing occurred, especially when the spending category limits disclosure," they noted.

The Makabayan solons said that the Vice President has resorted to attacks against them, thinking this would exonerate her from the impeachment allegations.

“Ang pulitikong nagigipit, sa red-tagging kumakapit (A politician in distress clings to red-tagging). It’s already 2026 pero ganyan pa rin siya," they said.

They said it would simply better serve the Vice President to face the process in the lower chamber. "The House has constitutional duties of oversight and accountability, and no official is exempt."

"Humaharap ang mga opisyal na walang itinatago. Umatend siya sa Committee on Justice at sagutin niya ang mga tanong ng taumbayan (Officials with nothing to hide face the public. He attended the Committee on Justice and answered the people’s questions)," the bloc said.

The justice panel, chaired by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro, recently declared two impeachment complaints filed against Duterte as sufficient in both form and substance.

The panel gave Duterte 10 calendar days to answer the allegations stated in impeachment raps.