Sara: We can work without a funds

LAWMAKERS are eyeing to slash as much as P1 billion from Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed P2.037 budget for 2025 because of Vice President Sara Duterte’s unwillingness to answer the questions during the budget hearings at the House of Representatives.

The Vice President shot back she and her team are ready even if the House completely defunds the OVP, the budget of which has been tripled since the time of former Vice President Leni Robredo whose term ended in 2022.

“Handa kami. Handa ako sa Office of the Vice President na mag-trabaho kahit walang budget. Maliit lang ‘yung opisina namin. Maliit lang ‘yung operations namin kaya kayang-kaya namin na mag-trahabo kahit walang budget (We’re ready to work in the Office of the Vice President even without a budget. Our office is small. Our operations are small so we can easily work even without a budget),” the Vice President said in a recorded interview released to the media.

Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT), a member of the militant Makabayan bloc, said “more or less P1 billion” is expected to be slashed from the OVP’s 2025 budget, the bulk of which will come from its proposed socio-economic programs, which many lawmakers found to be a duplication of the functions of other departments and agencies, especially the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Castro said the House Committee on Appropriations chaired by Rep. Zaldy Co (PL, Ako Bicol) has already agreed to implement the cuts and realign it to other agencies delivering social services, regardless if Duterte will attend the next budget hearing or not.

“If the Vice President wants, she can request funds from various agencies, just like other vice presidents have done,” the militant lawmaker told ANC in an interview.

Castro said the Makabayan bloc will also propose that the OVP’s proposed P10 million budget for the Vice President’s children’s book “Isang Kaibigan” be realigned to the Department of Education, which is now headed by Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara, so it could be used to buy additional textbooks and other reading materials.

Co said House leaders will decide where the P1 billion will be realigned because “you can’t really trust her (Duterte).”

“So dapat pera pang-ayuda, pera pang tulong sa taongbayan, ibigay sa agency for checks and balance. Katulad namin sa Kongreso, ang DSWD, na pang-ayuda sa mahihirap, dapat ibigay natin sa DSWD, para walang pulitika. Siya ang namumulitika, so talagang binubudol tayo araw-araw (So the budget for financial assistance, the money to help the people, should be given to the appropriate agency for checks and balance. Like us here in Congress… the money for financial aid, should be given to the DSWD to avoid politicking. She’s (Duterte) the one politicking, so we’re getting fooled everyday),” Co said.

In agreeing to slash the OVP budget, Co noted a Commission on Audit (COA) report that less than one percent of the office’s P150 million budget for its “Magnegosyo” entrepreneurship program was used in 2023. The audit body also said the almost P65 million spent by the OVP for the distribution of food items last year lacked documentation.

The Vice President shrugged off the House’s plan, saying she was already prepared to deal with the possibility that her office will be defunded.

“Narinig din namin na mayroong defunding. I-defund daw ang Office of the Vice President budget. Narinig din namin na posibleng piso lang ang ibigay na budget sa Office of the Vice President (We’ve also heard about defunding. That the budget of the Office of the Vice President will be defunded. We’ve also heard that they’ll possibly give a P1 budget to the Office of the Vice President),” she said.

Castro slammed Duterte for her “dismissive response to the removal of her office’s confidential funds,” which, she said “only underscores the need for further scrutiny.”

“Her narrative that she would continue to work regardless of budget limitations is a deflection from the core issue: adherence to legal and ethical standards in public office,” Castro said.

Castro said the Makabayan bloc “has been consistent in defending the proper allocation of the national budget, ensuring that funds are used to serve the interests of the Filipino people rather than personal or political gain.”

“We are committed to holding public officials accountable and to work for the abolition of all confidential funds. We will continue to explore all legal avenues, including impeachment, to address any abuse of power and resources,” she said.

Lawmakers proposed significant cuts in the OVP’s proposed budget next year after the Vice President snubbed the resumption of the budget hearing last Tuesday, which prompted the appropriations panel to defer the termination of the deliberations for the second time.

The deliberations on the OVP’s proposed budget was first deferred last August 27 when tensions flared after Duterte stonewalled questions on the notice of disallowance that the COA issued to the OVP for its use of confidential funds in 2022, saying it is up to the House to decide on her office’s budget proposal.

A combative Duterte was repeatedly told then to respect the panel after she repetitively questioned the rulings of presiding chair Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo and the House rules and even tried to raise motions of despite not being a member of the chamber.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, who will sponsor and defend the OVP’s budget in the plenary, said: “Anything is possible (going forward).”

“The important thing here is to understand what is the appropriate budget for the OVP so it can carry out its mandate,” Adiong said. “I will base my answers on the documents that I have in my possession.”

No formal motion has been raised to give the OVP a P1 budget for 2025.

The Vice President accused the House of conducting “scripted” budget hearings, saying this is one of the reasons why she refused to answer the lawmakers’ questions.

She said congressmen obviously came to budget hearings prepared to rebut whatever explanations the OVP would give them, complete with powerpoint and audio-visual presentations.

“Kaya makikita ninyo, kung ulit-ulitin natin ‘yung nangyari noong House budget hearing noong August 27, mayroon silang plano na gamitin ‘yun para siraan ako (If you can see, if we will look at what happened during the House budget hearing last August 27, they really had a plan to malign me),” she said.

The younger Duterte said lawmakers are also attacking her using the COA’s audit observations on the DepEd’s budget use, claiming she had nothing to do with it even if it happened when she was education secretary.

“At hindi lang sila tumitigil diyan. Kung makita ninyo, ngayon naman nasa DepEd budget sila ng pagsira ng pangalan ko. Kahit wala akong kinalaman doon sa mga observations ng Commission on Audit, sinasa bi nila na ‘kasalanan ni Inday Sara ‘yan’ (And they didn’t stop there. If you can see, they’re now using the DepEd budget to malign me. Even though I don’t have anything to do with the Commission on Audit’s observations, they’ll say, ‘That’s Inday Sara’s fault’),” she said.

She again accused Romualdez of working with the militant Makabayan bloc to attack her, citing the removal of the confidential funds of the OVP and the Dep Ed under this year’s national budget and the impeachment moves against her allegedly being initiated by Castro.

“So, nakikita niyo, bumulong ang Makabayan bloc kay Martin Romualdez. At dahil sa kagustuhan ni Martin Romualdez na hindi siya atakihin, at dahil sa gusto niyang suportahan ang Makabayan at ang NPA, nakinig siya. At ang ginawa niya, tanggalin ‘yung budget (You see, the Makabayan bloc whispered to Martin Romualdez. And because Martin Romualdez didn’t want to get attacked and because he wanted to support the Makabayan and the NPA, he listened to them. What he did was to remove the confidential funds),” she said.

She said the House also removed the confidential funds of other agencies “so that it would not be too obvious that they were attacking me.”

La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said the only script he saw was the one the Vice President was reading from during the August 27 budget hearing, where she repeatedly refused to answer or gave generic responses about her use of the P125 million in confidential funds, spent in just 11 days in December 2022, of which P73.287 million was disallowed by the COA.

“Meron po akong nakitang may script, paulit-ulit po ‘yung sagot niya binabasa niya ‘yung script niya (I saw a script, the one she repeatedly read),” Ortega told a press conference. “Kami po wala po kaming script, wala naman pong scenario, wala naman pong ganun, pero lahat po ng sagot (ng Vice President) binabasa po ‘yung script (We didn’t have a script, no scenario, nothing like that, but all of the answers of the Vice President were read from a script).”

The Vice President also said that historically, vice presidents have always been subjected to political attacks by rivals because of their potential in winning the presidency. She asked the public not to “give in” to “political noise,” saying all those who want to run for president are expected to attack the vice president first.

Her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, has accused Speaker Martin Romualdez of trying to ease his daughter out, saying the Speaker is eyeing the presidency in 2028.

IMPEACHMENT

The Vice President also said Castro has been “at the center” of the plot to impeach her, saying that as early as November 2023, the militant lawmaker was already making public plans to impeach her.

“Kung babalik tayo noong nakaraang taon ay nagsalita na si France Castro noong November 2023, nagsabi na siya, ‘Ay, pinag-uusapan namin ang impeachment ni Inday Sara.’ At nagbigay siya ng mga basehan doon sa ipa-file daw nila na impeachment. Kaya tuloy-tuloy lang ‘yan na pinag-uusapan openly, diyan sa House of Representatives, ang impeachment (If we look back, France Castro was already talking about my impeachment in November 2023. ‘Hey, we’re already discussing Inday Sara’s impeachment.’ And she gave the grounds for the impeachment complaint they are supposed to file. The impeachment is continuously being discussed openly in the House of Representatives),” she said.

Castro denied that the Vice President’s claim, saying the Makabayan bloc never held meetings with the Speaker to plot her removal from office through impeachment.

“Unang-una walang katotohanan na kami sa Makabayan bloc ay nakipagpulong kay House Speaker Romualdez para sa impeachment ni VP Duterte (First of all, it’s not true that the Makabayan bloc had a meeting with Speaker Romualdez for the impeacment of VP Duterte).”

The militant lawmaker said the Makabayan bloc’s press statements in August and November last year said it was premature to file an impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

In her August 2023 statement, Castro said she urged everyone to focus on the critical issue at hand, which involved the P125 million confidential fund of the OVP for 2022. “We must focus on the facts first and ask for accountability. Talks of impeachment are premature,” she said then.

Castro said the Vice President “should get her facts straight at hindi puro marites ang source (and stop citing rumors as source).”

‘SELF-INFLICTED’

Ortega said the Vice President’s problems are “self-inflicted,” dismissing her claims of being unfairly targeted and her office defunded.

“In the House of Representatives, from the start, kahit sa presscon, kung may issues man, (even in press conferences, if there are issues) we stick with the issues. Kung may critique man (If there are criticisms), after we look into the deeper content, we offer solutions,” he said.

Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider) dismissed any notion that the House’s scrutiny of the OVP budget is politically motivated, especially in light of rumors about the 2028 elections influencing decisions.

“Maybe that’s the playbook of the previous administration, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t care who the president will be in 2028. What matters to us now is the current budget,” Gutierrez said.

Rep. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog) laughed off Duterte’s allegations, saying the real issue is her refusal to take accountability for the confidential funds in question.

“It is very easy to point fingers, but the issue here is not whether (the budget) is being controlled by so many people. The budget is being prepared by the executive, deliberated by the legislative, it’s a matter of public record,” he said.

Acidre however said the House will determine the right budget for the OVP because it is an office “that we need to respect.”

“We can only hope that the same respect that we give her at her office is reciprocated. Fortunately, with her absence, it tells otherwise,” he said. “But nonetheless, we will give what is necessary for the office of the Vice President.”

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Congress can just give the OVP “sufficient budget to carry out the VP’s constitutional role or responsibility to be ready to be President at any given second.”

“Hence the OVP should have budget for staff, office utilities, library, briefings meetings (representations), attendance in conferences, travel both domestic and international,” Pimentel said.

Former Senate president Vicente Sotto III said Congress need not compel the Vice President to physically attend the plenary discussions on her office’s proposed budget for 2025.

“There is no need to compel her if she refuses to attend. All they have to do is to refuse the budget being asked and simply retain the budget for personal services for career employees and MOOE (monthly operating and other expenses). That will be in line with what she asked the Congress to do, which is decide for her,” Sotto said.

He said the same applies to ag encies or departments whose heads of office do not attend budget hearings and refuse to defend their respective proposed budgets. — With Raymond Africa