VP Sara Duterte’s outburst shows flaw in her character – Acop

MANILA, Philippines — The numerous criticisms against Vice President Sara Duterte were a test of her character, and her outburst at a press conference last Friday showed a flaw in her behavior, according to Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop.

At a press briefing on Monday, Acop said he believes Duterte was “overwhelmed by anger” when she conducted a press briefing last Friday.

“When a person has too much anger in her, her sense of decency is lost, in my opinion,” he said.

“And sometimes, how you manage the hate in your body and attacks against you, it’s also a test of your character … So in the case of the VP, it seems that a flaw in her character is coming out because her character is overwhelmed by her anger,” he added.

Duterte lashed out at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family.

READ: VP Duterte says she daydreamed ’cutting off’ Marcos’ head

READ: Duterte: I’ll throw Marcos Sr.’s body into West PH Sea if attacks continue

Lawmakers said Duterte’s harsh criticisms were a mere diversion as issues raised against her offices’ budget utilization were not addressed.

A day prior to Duterte’s media briefing, it was revealed at the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability hearing that the Office of the Vice President used its confidential fund (CF) to rent 34 safe houses worth P16 million for 11 days in December 2022.

Acop was also the one who asked the Commission on Audit (COA) if the 34 acknowledgment receipts given by OVP for the use of safe houses in 2022 corresponded to one safe house each.

COA audit team leader Atty. Gloria Camora initially said she could not confirm it, but she eventually said that there was information that indicated that each of the 34 acknowledgment receipts represented one safe house.

READ: OVP likely used 34 safe houses for 11 days worth P16M in 2022 – COA

Acop and committee chair Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua then questioned what kind of safe houses were used considering that one property was rented for P500,000 for just 11 days — more expensive when compared to posh hotel rooms in the country.

Lawmakers also observed that the Department of Education (DepEd) while it was under Duterte made it seem that its CF was used for a youth training program, when the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and local government units (LGUs) shouldered most of the expenses.

During the hearing, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro asked Army Col. Manaros Boransing what agencies’ funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS), an anti-insurgency campaign that DepEd supposedly allocated P15 million of its CF.

Boransing said the Philippine Army and the local government units spent their funds on the YLS.

READ: DepEd under Duterte makes it seem it’s funding AFP training – solon 

However, instead of answering questions on fund utilization, Duterte started off her briefing on Friday by narrating her path to the vice presidency. She also bared that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, really discouraged her from running for president.

The younger Duterte also criticized her former allies in the Uniteam, Marcos, and her former campaign manager, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

Later in the briefing, Duterte said the accusations leveled against DepEd during the committee hearing on Thursday were not enough to substantiate issues. She claimed that lawmakers only wanted to make it seem that CFs were misused so that the public perception of her would be negative.

Acop maintained that Duterte’s rants would not deter the House from pursuing its investigation.

“For us, the performance of one’s duty should be the primordial consideration. That’s our job,” he said.

“And therefore, there should be no let up to show what really happened to the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was still the secretary. Because if we would give leeway, it would not be in accordance with our mandate,” he added.