Use of confidential funds recalled, irking VP Sara Duterte

VERBAL SPARRING | After ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro (left) accused Vice President Sara Duterte of using squid tactics to muddle public perception about her use of public funds in Tuesday’s budget hearing, the latter asked what a “convicted child abuser” was doing in Congress, referring to the former’s conviction on child abuse charges last month. —Screengrab from a House of Representatives video

MANILA, Philippines — What was supposed to be a careful examination of the proposed 2025 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday descended into chaos after Vice President Sara Duterte stonewalled the deliberations led by the powerful House committee on appropriations.

After the proceedings got testy right from Duterte’s opening remarks, where she cried political persecution and mentioned rumors about moves to impeach her, the hearing ultimately became a refresher on how the OVP had spent P125 million in confidential funds in 11 days in 2022.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro brought up the topic that first made headlines in September 2023.

This time, Castro cited a report of the Commission on Audit (COA) giving a breakdown of how the secret funds got spent: P14 million in the purchase of information, P10 million in payment of rewards, P16 million in the rental of safe houses, P35 million in the purchase of supplies, P40 million in food aid, and P10 million in travel expenses.

Spending P40 million on “food aid’’ was not intelligence work, Castro added, highlighting one of the findings.

Of the total allocation, she said, the COA had issued a notice of disallowance (ND) for P73 million, of which P69.7 million was disallowed based on nonsubmission of documents proving the success of the information and surveillance activities and rewards.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing further broke down the expenditure, stressing that it meant that “P6 out of P10 of the confidential funds were not used properly.”

Not that easy this time

Duterte’s stance on Tuesday was a far cry from her calm demeanor in previous budget hearings. The atmosphere was also tense if compared to 2022 and 2023, when the OVP budget was approved within minutes without any questions or objections from lawmakers.

This time, the hearing lasted for over five hours, and the budget approval was deferred, with a second hearing set for Sept. 10.

The real kicker, however, was when Duterte requested committee vice chair and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo to “forgo the opportunity to defend the 2025 OVP budget and leave it to the House of Representatives to decide on the budget submitted.”

The unprecedented request, which left Quimbo momentarily stumped, foreshadowed the steady breakdown of decorum that characterized the budget hearing.

While Quimbo rejected her request on account of transparency, Duterte from that point on only offered one of the following responses to interpellators: she was forgoing the chance to answer; her office had received audit actions regarding its confidential funds and would fully cooperate with the COA; and she would only answer questions regarding the 2025 OVP budget and nothing else.

She also repeatedly asked for bathroom breaks to suspend the hearing.

When Castro started to ask her about how the OVP spent P125 million in confidential funds within 11 days in 2022, an obviously irked Duterte asked why she was being grilled on past budgets when “this is a hearing on the 2025 budget … we didn’t even ask for confidential funds this year!”

Strange request

“Isn’t it that your own rules say that discussions must be germane to the topic, and the topic is the 2025 budget proposal, so tell me, where is that [rule]?” she asked, before requesting that deliberations on the OVP budget be led instead by the House committee on finance. There is no such committee, however, in the lower chamber.

Amid audible gasps, Quimbo told Duterte: “You are not allowed to do that; you are not allowed to introduce any motion.”

Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a known Duterte ally, then came to her defense, saying the matter “should have been put to rest” as it was discussed extensively in the 2023 and 2024 OVP budget deliberations, which led to the OVP and Department of Education, then still led by Duterte, being stripped of confidential funds this year.

Two more Duterte allies, Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, questioned insinuations that the COA’s issuance of an ND signified “wrongdoing.” Both moved that all mentions of the “illegal use” of confidential funds be stricken off the record.

Later, when Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel told the panel that Duterte “wasn’t born yesterday [so as to not] understand why these questions [on past budgets] are part of the deliberations,” the Vice President replied: “That’s a snide remark, Madam Chair.”

When Duterte started stonewalling, she was told by Quimbo: “I think this is a reasonable ask, you may or may not answer, you’re not compelled. But please just say I don’t wish to answer, that’s it. At least we know that’s a direct response. Or else we won’t finish this.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you earlier; you don’t want to believe me, this hearing will take us all night, Madam Chair,” Duterte replied.

“May I remind also our resource persons to please act in a respectful manner. Sorry but it is not within your authority to fire the presiding officer of this hearing,” Quimbo said.

But she stopped short of citing Duterte in contempt—a practice the House of Representatives has used liberally during the 19th Congress alone against resource persons believed to have disrespected its rules.