Former President Rodrigo Duterte (L) and Vice President Sara Duterte | PHOTOS: Official Fb pages of Rody Duterte and Inday Sara Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers have refuted Vice President Sara Duterte’s allegation that they’re utilizing the problem about her workplace’s secret funds to discredit her, saying that attacking a sitting vice chairman was the sport plan of the earlier administration.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V had been requested about Duterte’s claims that lawmakers are attacking her as a result of vice presidents are at all times perceived to be aiming for the presidency.
Gutierrez disputed her allegation.
“Possibly that’s the playbook of the earlier administration, however so far as we’re involved, I don’t care who the president shall be in 2028. What we care about is the funds now, that’s what I can say about any supposed ploy that there may be,” Gutierrez mentioned.
Ortega, in the meantime, mentioned Duterte might have give you this conclusion out of familiarity.
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“Siguro acquainted sila dun, ‘no? Noong nakaraang administrasyon. Hindi naman po assaults kasi ‘yong ginagawa namin, we’re specializing in the problems,” he mentioned.
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(Possibly they’re conversant in that as a result of that’s what occurred prior to now administration. We aren’t attacking, we’re specializing in the problems.)
“Karamihan naman kasi nung mga nire-raise niya na parang problema, ‘yong parang ina-atake siya, karamihan naman nung mga sinabi niya, parang siya nag-a-attack sa sarili niya, parang self-inflicted kasi,” he added.
(Many of the issues she raised, her feeling that she is being attacked, most of those assaults got here from her, it appears to be self-inflicted.)
In March 2021, then Vice President Leni Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Gutierrez lamented that the administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte gave the impression to be extra all for attacking Robredo fairly than fixing points associated to the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ: Leni camp: Admin spends extra time bashing Robredo than fixing issues
In January 2021, Gutierrez requested former Abroad Staff Welfare Affiliation Deputy Government Director Mocha Uson to spare Robredo’s workplace from her “silliness” as she blamed Robredo and her supporters for rumors circulating about her alleged romance with actor Robin Padilla, which Uson debunked.
READ: OVP spokesman tells Mocha Uson: Don’t drag us into your nonsense
In a video launched by the Workplace of the Vice President (OVP) on Wednesday, Duterte claimed that the criticisms she was receiving had been borne out of a want to place down a vice chairman presumed to be after the presidency.
“Unang-una, mensahe ko sa ating mga kababayan, huwag silang magpadala sa ingay ng politika. Kung makikita natin sa kasaysayan, lagi talagang inaatake ang vice chairman dahil siya ‘yung tinitingnan ng mga tao na baka magiging sunod na presidente,” she mentioned.
(My message to my fellow Filipinos, they shouldn’t be swayed by political noise. If we will see in historical past, they at all times assault the vice presidents as a result of folks see them as presumably the subsequent presidents.)
“So, lahat ng mga gustong tumakbong presidente ay uunahin nila atakihin talaga ang vice chairman. Kaya ‘wag sila magpadala sa ingay ng paninira at pulitika,” she added.
(So, of all these aspiring to be presidents, they assault the vice chairman first. That’s why the folks shouldn’t be swayed by efforts to discredit and politics.)
Ortega maintained that the Home of Representatives has at all times caught with the problems at hand, noting that discussions revolve on budgetary issues.
“Within the Home of Representatives, we’ve been, from the beginning, even throughout press conferences, if there are points, we keep on with the problems. If there’s a critique, after we critique, after we glance into the deeper content material, we provide options. We focus on these primarily based on points, that’s clear,” he mentioned.
Duterte is at the moment below hearth after funds hearings on the Home revealed points on the OVP’s confidential funds in 2022 and 2023, and anomalies within the supply of tasks of the Division of Training, when she was the Training secretary.
Majority Chief Manuel Jose Dalipe mentioned on Tuesday that Duterte could also be responsible for graft if she can not clarify how the funds had been spent, significantly objects with opposed findings from the Fee on Audit (COA).
The COA issued a discover of disallowance on P73.2 million of the OVP’s P125-million CF for 2022 — an merchandise that a number of lawmakers mentioned shouldn’t be out there within the first place as the unique funds crafted below Robredo didn’t have such.
READ: VP Sara Duterte could also be responsible for graft – Dalipe
Lawmakers additionally blasted Duterte for skipping the funds deliberations of the OVP on Tuesday — the second spherical of discussions as talks had been deferred final August 27.
Deliberations had been deferred as Duterte kept away from instantly answering lawmakers’ questions, replying by saying that she both forgoes the chance to defend the OVP funds in a question-and-answer format, or by insisting that they’ve already coordinated with the COA concerning the discover of disallowance.
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READ: OVP’s 2025 funds talks deferred anew; panel terminates hearings
