Vice President Sara Duterte’s contempt for transparency in accounting for the PhP125 million confidential and intelligence funds of her office in 2023 is in full display during the budget hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate. She employed “squid (pusit)” tactics and insolence to evade direct responses to questions from the Makabayan representatives during the Congressional deliberations on the proposed budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Duterte refused to answer questions from members of the House regarding Php 73 million in expenses from her Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIF) disallowed by the Commission on Audit (COA). This represents close to 60% of Duterte’s CIF at the OVP in 2023.
Faced with a barrage of questions, she interjected issues completely unrelated to the OVP budget in order to escape scrutiny and accountability. The COA has named her as one of three persons accountable for the questionable disbursements and expenses from her CIF.
Instead, Duterte resorted to insulting the question raiser, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, by calling her a “convicted child abuser” and questioning her presence in the House.
Duterte, being a lawyer, should know that Rep. Castro’s conviction for child abuse, aside from being questionable on many points, is currently under appeal and will not become final unless affirmed by the Supreme Court. Rep. Castro is well within her rights to continue her work at the House of Representatives.
Unfortunately for Sara Duterte, whose sense of entitlement knows no bounds, the Filipino people will not be bullied into silence in demanding the truth behind her confidential and intelligence funds.