Duterte boasting zero secret OVP funds? She shouldn’t have any – Castro

The Office of the Vice President did not request confidential funds from the proposed P6.3-trillion national budget for 2025, Vice President Sara Duterte announced.| PHOTO: Official facebook page of Inday Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged boasting of her office’s decision not to request confidential funds (CF) for 2025 is an “empty gesture,” as she should not have secret funds in the first place, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said on Monday.

In a statement, Castro said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is not mandated to have CFs as it does not have a surveillance function.

Her statement came after Duterte on Saturday said that her office did not propose any CF allocation for 2025.

“Why should she request for confidential funds when her office is not mandated to have such funds? Besides, she is just afraid that Congress will again take it away along with other civilian agencies that are not mandated for confidential funds,” the lawmaker said.

READ: OVP says it didn’t request confidential funds from 2025 national budget

Castro also pointed out that Duterte has not yet explained what happened to the CFs that the OVP got in 2022.

READ: Quimbo: OVP’s P125M secret fund in 2022 spent in just 11 days 

“Also, up till now, she has not satisfactorily explained the P125-million confidential funds she illegally acquired and spent in 11 days in 2022. She also has to account [for] how she spent her confidential funds in 2023,” the lawmaker said.

During the deliberations in 2023 for the 2024 budget, Castro and other members of the Makabayan bloc proposed to remove the proposed CFs under the agencies handled by Duterte — P500 million for OVP and P150 million for the Department of Education (DepEd).

The House of Representatives decided to remove the CFs from the OVP. It reallocated it to agencies involved in securing the West Philippine Sea, like the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard. DepEd’s CF was converted into items under its Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses, particularly assistance for teachers and students.

READ: How House removed, reduced the confidential funds of gov’t agencies

Castro is a staunch critic of Duterte. In May 2023, Castro said Duterte was diverting the public from real education issues after the lawmaker was accused of shifting attention from the communist rebel attacks in Masbate province.

ACT Teachers also urged DepEd to hire 30,000 teachers yearly to address gaps in the education sector, but Duterte said it was “unrealistic.”

READ: VP Duterte: Hiring 30,000 teachers yearly ‘unrealistic, impossible’ 

After Duterte resigned as Education secretary, Castro said the Vice President’s decision had been “long overdue,” adding that nothing was done to resolve the education crisis in her two years at the helm.

For Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, Duterte is not yet off the hook in terms of explaining DepEd’s budget utilization, even with her resignation.

READ: Sara Duterte’s resignation as DepEd chief ‘long overdue’ – Castro

“She shouldn’t brag about requesting confidential funds for the next budget. She is not off the hook yet,” the lawmaker said in Filipino.

With reports from Moss Laygo, trainee