Castro enjoys sauteed squid after Duterte skipped OVP budget hearing
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and Vice President Sara Duterte (FILE) Photos from the House of Representatives
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte may have skipped the House hearing on her office’s proposed budget, but ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro was content with the meal served by the committee on appropriations on Tuesday.
Lawmakers and guests were served baby squid sauteed in garlic along with paella negra — a rice meal with squid ink — which Castro deemed delicious.
“Katatapos lang po ng budget hearing dito sa Office of the Vice President (OVP), nakita niyo naman binoycott tayo, pero masarap ‘tong lunch ngayon ah, may pusit saka paella negra. Tikman nga natin kung gaano kasarap,” Castro said.
(The budget hearing on the Office of the Vice President’s proposed budget has just finished, you can see that we were boycotted, but our lunch today is good ah, there’s squid and paella negra. Let’s taste it to know how delicious it is.)
“Masarap! Sana pala meron ding inihaw na pusit,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisement(It’s delicious! I just hope that we had grilled squid also.)
Article continues after this advertisementPUSIT REVIEW 😊🦑
Habang hindi dumalo sa sarili niyang budget hearing ang bise presidente na si Sara Duterte, naghain naman ang House of Representatives para sa mga dumalo sa hearing.
Tikman, este, tingnan ang pusit review ni Teacher France!#bantaybudget2025#BudgetHearing pic.twitter.com/KfpqVMksRx
— Teacher France (@FranceCastroACT) September 10, 2024
The committee on appropriations was scheduled to discuss the OVP’s P2.037-billion proposed budget for 2025 on Tuesday, as deliberations on their proposed allocation last August 27 were deferred because Duterte did not directly answer lawmakers’ questions.
During the previous hearing, Duterte replied to questions by saying that she forgoes the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format, or by insisting that they have already coordinated with the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the notice of disallowance on the OVP’s confidential funds (CF) for 2022.
READ: OVP budget deferred after Duterte evades questions at House hearing
Due to this, Castro likened Duterte to a squid that releases ink when under pressure as Duterte deflected questions related to her office’s use of CF.
“Hindi puwede ‘yong ganyan na ‘yong tactics na ganyan ‘no? Na parang — sorry for the pusit — kapag nasusukol na ang pusit ay nag-aano ng maitim na tinta. So ayaw natin ng gano’n Madam Chair, kasi ‘yong ating namang pinag-uusapan dito ay budget. So ‘wag naman mag-ugaling pusit ang Office of the Vice President,” Castro said.
(That kind of tactic cannot be allowed. It’s like — sorry for the squid — when the squid is cornered, it would release a black ink. So we do not want that because what we are talking about here is the budget. So I hope the Office of the Vice President does not act like a squid.)
READ: Squid tactics? Castro scores VP Sara for deflecting secret fund issue
However, neither Duterte nor any representative from the OVP was present to address the questions at Tuesday’s hearing.
The Vice President sent a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and panel chair Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co to state that they have already submitted the necessary documents to the House panel.
READ: VP Sara skips House hearing on 2025 OVP budget, sends letter instead
Duterte’s absence at the budget hearing and her recent interviews also led Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe to believe that she is merely employing “squid tactics” to deflect issues.
“Instead of focusing on delivering results, we’re now seeing what others suspect all along, that the Vice President is resorting to squid tactics — using smokescreens and diversionary moves to escape accountability,” Dalipe said.
