Vice President Sara Duterte — CIO FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte and her family ruled Davao City for decades but have not been able to solve flooding in the area, lawmakers pointed this out as more counterblast her criticism of the current administration.
Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said Senate President Francis Escudero’s observations were correct — that it is perplexing for the Vice President to call out the current administration over the recent floods when her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, had six years to address the issue.
“Senate President (Francis) Escudero is correct. You have been serving for a long time there, but you failed to solve flooding in your area,” Acidre said in a statement over the weekend.
“PRRD (former President Duterte) was in Malacañang for six years. He was also a long-time mayor of Davao City, he and his children changed positions after their terms ended. He and his children were also lawmakers. They should have fixed the issue of flooding in their area,” he added.
Last Friday, Escudero said Vice President Duterte has the right to point out societal problems just like any other Filipino, although he found it “perplexing” for the second-highest official to attack the current administration when her father allegedly failed to address it.
READ: Sara Duterte’s rant vs government baffles Escudero: Her dad had 6 yrs
1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez noted in a separate statement that there was enough funding for flood control in Davao City – particularly within the jurisdiction of Vice President Duterte’s older brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.
“There were P51 billion funds allocated to the district of Cong. Pulong in three years, what happened? That’s a huge amount. For context, there was a P244.6-billion fund for flood control in 2024, but that’s for the entire country,” he said.
“Did this follow the Flood Control Master Plan? If Davao City and other parts of Mindanao were not included, they should be the ones to explain to our Davaoeño and Mindanaoan brothers and sisters,” he added.
Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, meanwhile, questioned why Duterte is only airing these issues now when her position as the second-highest national official would have given her a better advantage in solving the problems.
Vice President Sara Duterte, who was the other half of the Uniteam campaign alliance in the 2022 polls, used to be part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration as Education secretary. She resigned from all her Cabinet posts last June 19.
“Why are we hearing all these only now? It only shows what kind of politician she is. She will make it appear that she’s an ally if it will only suit her interests, then attack when she no longer needs the use [of] it. She has just shown her true colors,” Bongalon said.
The lawmaker further questioned why Duterte has been silent on problems surrounding the Department of Education, which she supposedly failed to solve.
“Did she even help our overburdened and overworked public school teachers? At one point, I can still vividly recall that she suggested holding Saturday classes only to catch up with the targeted June school calendar opening, which President Marcos politely declined,” he said.
“Show some humility, Ms. VP! Your complaints could have been addressed, and they could have resulted in more productive endeavors if you had raised them early on. Don’t make the government your punching bag,” he said. “When you were DepEd chief, did you even attempt to improve learning competencies?”
Statements against Duterte came after she delivered a message to the Muslim community last Wednesday, thanking Muslim tribes for volunteering to secure her after 75 police officers were pulled out of her personal protection group.
READ: VP Sara asked: ‘Where were you, ma’am’ during typhoon?
According to Duterte, it is not her security which is of importance but the well-being of the country, highlighting that the country is being ruled by people who do not fulfill their sworn duties.
The Vice President likewise said the government itself admitted that there is no comprehensive flood-control master plan.
But lawmakers questioned Duterte’s remarks: Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun and La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V urged the Vice President to address her absence during the height of Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon’s onslaught, instead of speaking on these matters.
Then, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong urged Duterte not to use religion in politics, saying that he is disappointed with Duterte’s statements before the Muslim community, which only leans towards divisiveness.
Duterte also drew flak for supposedly making it appear that her security was depleted when the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that 400 military officers were securing her.
To this end, Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez noted that having such number of security personnel might be already be excessive.
Several media outlets, including INQUIRER.net, have asked the Office of the Vice President and Rep. Paolo Duterte for their comments regarding these issues, but neither of them has issued any response as of this writing.