House solons to Sara: Stop diverting issues, answer budget use queries

Vice President Sara Duterte during a budget deliberation in the House of Representatives — HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MANILA, Philippines — Different lawmakers from the House of Representatives have called on Vice President Sara Duterte to stop diverting issues and instead answer questions raised regarding her past and present offices’ budget utilization.

In separate statements on Friday, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua believe it would be better for the Vice President to face these accusations head-on.

According to Brosas, Duterte was just diverting public opinion by treating her press briefing earlier as a drama anthology show where she told stories.

“We are appalled by the recent diversionary tactics employed by Vice President Sara Duterte amidst serious allegations of misuse of public funds and corruption within the Department of Education (DepEd).  This is merely a deliberate attempt to shift public attention through a tell-all interview on her relationship with the Marcos family — a narrative that serves no purpose in addressing the pressing issues at hand,” Brosas said.

“Hindi ito Maalaala Mo Kaya episode,” Brosas said, referring to the television show where letter-senders narrate their life stories.  “Vice President Duterte’s reluctance to face these corruption allegations head-on, coupled with her theatrics, is a desperate bid to save face,” she added.

Gonzales said the people deserve answers since public funds are the subject of the House committee on good government and public accountability’s hearings.

“Public funds are at stake here. Stop diverting the issue and address the controversy directly,” Gonzales said.  “Huwag puro iwas, the people deserve clear answers. Pati military ginamit mo, yet they were denied what was due to them. This needs to be explained.”

The senior deputy speaker was referring to observations by House members that DepEd, while under Duterte, made it seem that they used their confidential funds (CF) 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 committee hearing on Thursday, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro asked Army Col. Manaros Boransing as to what agencies’ funds were used for the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) — an anti-insurgency campaign for young people which DepEd supposedly allocated P15 million of its CF.

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

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

The Commission on Audit (COA) also confirmed to Luistro that the acknowledgement receipts used by DepEd to show how the P15 million CF was spent, actually referred to the YLS.

However, DepEd labeled this disbursement as rewards to informers.

Dalipe said refusal to address these issues shows diversionary tactics.

“Instead of addressing these serious allegations, she’s attacking others. The education system declined under her leadership, and public funds were mishandled. She must take responsibility,” Dalipe pointed out.

“This is not the time for deflections or personal attacks,” Gonzales said. “Public funds were misused, and the education system suffered under her leadership. Vice President Duterte must explain where the money went.”

“The public deserves transparency about how public money, military resources, and the education sector were handled. It’s time for Duterte to stop dodging and face the music,” Dalipe added.

Chua, chairperson of the House committee on good government and public accountability, said that people cannot help think that Duterte’s briefing is just a diversion if she did not tackled the issues raised during the hearing.

“If she did not answer the issues that were discussed yesterday, we can think of it that way (that it is a diversion),” he noted.

During the briefing on Friday, Duterte started off with narrating her path to the vice presidency, relaying that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was really discouraging him from running for president.

The younger Duterte also criticized her former allies in the Uniteam, running-mate and now President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and her former campaign manager, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

Later in the briefing, Duterte said that the accusations leveled against DepEd during the committee hearing on Thursday are not enough to substantiate issues — claiming that lawmakers only want to make it seem that confidential funds were misused so that public perception of her would be negative.

But aside from the confidential fund usage, another DepEd official admitted that envelopes containing money, allegedly from former secretary and Vice President Duterte, reached his office.

Former DepEd Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) head, Director Resty Osias, said this after being asked by Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano about this issue.

Valeriano was referring to former Education undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado’s claims during the September 25 hearing, that envelopes containing money supposedly from Duterte were given to her by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda — which she believes was intended to influence her decision.  Mercado was previously head of DepEd’s procuring entity.

READ: Alleged ‘envelopes’ from Duterte may have aimed to influence ex-DepEd Usec 

Mercado, during Luistro’s interpellation in the September 25 hearing said that she felt the money was meant for her to act in favor of the past DepEd administration.

READ: Ex-DepEd exec: VP Duterte’s staff asked me to resign over purchase issue 

Luistro’s questions were prompted by Mercado’s claims in her sworn affidavit that there were envelopes handed to her by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda.  Mercado said in her testimony that Fajarda claimed it came directly from Duterte.

However, Mercado said Duterte’s chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), asked her to resign from office after she raised several concerns regarding the procurement for the agency’s computerization program.