Hontiveros to VP: Gratitude is one thing, violence, fund misuse are another
Senator Risa Hontiveros and Vice President Sara Duterte (PHOTOS: SENATE PRIB, FB/DUTERTE)
MANILA, Philippines – While she knows how to be grateful to those who helped her win a seat in the Senate, it’s a different story when there is violence or misuse of funds involved.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros had this to say, a day after Vice President Sara Duterte brought up an “old and unrelated issue” to the budget request of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The two clashed during Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee on the proposed OVP’s P2.037-billion budget for 2025.
“Ang naramdaman ko ay pagkagitla nanaman. Ano naman kinalaman ng kwento nyang iyan na kwnenento na n’ya dati sa tinanong kong budget questions?” Hontiveros asked during the regular Kapihan sa Senado.
(What I felt was surprise again. What does that story, which she has already shared before, have to do with the budget questions I asked.)
The senator was asked about the support she supposedly sought from then Davao City Mayor Duterte during the 2016 elections.
“Ako po ay isang taong marunong tumanaw ng utang na loob lalo na sa taongbayan. Pero kung humantong ang isang administrasyon sa patayan o paglustay ng kaban ng bayan, ibang usapan na ‘yan,” Hontiveros went on.
(I am someone who knows how to show gratitude, especially to the people. However, if an administration reaches a point where there is violence or misuse of funds, that’s a different story.)
Allegations of corruption and extrajudicial killings hounded the administration of Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Anyway, sinabi ni VP Sara hindi naman nya ako tinulungan. So ano yung isinusumbat nya?” she asked.
According to the Vice President, Hontiveros went to Davao to ask for help in getting votes from the province.
“Sabi ko sa kanya, o cge tutulungan kita. Tsinika nya ako ng tsinika, tapos umalis sya. Syempre, hindi naman sya tumutulong kay Pangulong Duterte, hindi din totoo yung sinabi ko na tutulungan kita,” she said during Tuesday’s hearing.
(I told her, “Okay, I’ll help you.” She talked and talked, and then she left. Of course, she didn’t help President Duterte, so what I said about helping her wasn’t true also.)
When Hontiveros followed up on her request through a text message, the VP said she eventually sought the help of a former congressman to get votes for the senator.
“Nanalo na sya at nung nanalo sya, anong ginawa nya? Sya ang ang pinaka-unang umatake kay Presidet Rodrigo Durterte. Ano ang tawag sa ugaling ganito?” the VP further said.
(She won, and after winning, what did she do? She was the first to attack President Rodrigo Duterte. What do you call a behavior like that?)
However, Hontiveros had a very little memory of her meetings with the Vice President.
One of them was meeting Duterte to thank her for the support of the Davao government to some of the advocacies of her group, Akbayan, according to the senator.
