Ben Madilynn
VICE President Sara Duterte has accused House Speaker Martin Romualdez and House Committee on Appropriations chairperson Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co of manipulating the national budget.
In a video of an interview, which happened on September 4 and shared by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday, September 10, Duterte named Romualdez, cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Co as those who are in control of the allocation of the national budget.
“Ang budget ng Pilipinas ay hawak lang ng dalawang tao. Hawak lang siya ni Congressman Zaldy Co at ni Congressman Martin Romualdez. ‘Yan ang katotohanan,” said Duterte, who served as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) from June 2022 to July 19, 2024.
(The budget of the Philippines is held by only two people. It is held by Congressman Zaldy Co and Congressman Martin Romualdez. That’s the truth.)
Duterte said under the DepEd’s 2023 budget, the lower chamber allocated P5 billion for the construction of more classrooms.
However, she said some members of the House asked her for a share of the allocated budget.
When she refused to give a share of the budget, as she insisted that it should be for the construction of classrooms, the House allegedly increased the budget to P15 billion.
“Kaya kung makikita ninyo sa budget proposal na approved ng Office of the President, P5 billion ‘yun. Pero noong lumabas ‘yung GAA (General Appropriations Act) ‘yung budget approved noong 2023, naging P15 billion siya dahil hindi nga ako pumayag na kunin ‘yung P5 billion, dinagdagan nila ng P10 billion ‘yung classroom construction ng Department of Education,” said Duterte.
(So if you can see in the budget proposal approved by the Office of the President, that’s P5 billion. But when the GAA (General Appropriations Act) came out, the budget approved in 2023, it became P15 billion because I did not agree that they take the P5 billion, so they added P10 billion to the classroom construction of the Department of Education.)
“‘Yung P10 billion na ‘yun hindi kontrolado ng Department of Education. Controlled ‘yun ni Cong. Zaldy Co at Cong. Martin Romualdez. Hindi ko na kailangan ng corroborative witness dito dahil makikita ninyo ‘yun sa papel. Makikita ng taumbayan ‘yun sa papel. NEP (National Expenditure Program), P5 billion. Lumabas ang budget approved, P15 billion,” she added.
(That P10 billion is not controlled by the Department of Education. Cong. Zaldy Co and Cong. Martin Romualdez controlled it. I don’t need a corroborative witness here because you can see it in the paper. The people will see that in the paper. NEP (National Expenditure Program), P5 billion. The approved budget came out as P15 billion.)
For the 2024 budget of the agency, the funds allocated for construction of classrooms was also increased to P24 billion from the original proposal of P19 billion.
“At doon sa P24 billion na ‘yun, kung hahanapin mo sa papel, kinuha nila ang P5 billion ng repairs ng classroom at nilagay nila doon sa P19 billion para maging P24 billion siya. So, ang naiwan sa repairs, sa kawawang mga classroom ay P1 billion,” she said.
(Out of that P24 billion, if you look on paper, they took P5 billion for classroom repairs and put it in P19 billion to make it P24 billion. So, what was left in the repairs, in the poor classrooms is P1 billion.)
“Kaya makikita ninyo sa papel, nandiyan ‘yan, naging P24 billion at hindi lang ‘yan, dahil noong 2023 ay hindi ako pumayag na hindi masunod ‘yung DepEd na rules sa paano mag-classroom construction based on need, ang ginawa ngayong 2024, in-attach nila ang listahan na kung saan gagawin ang mga classroom construction worth P17 billion. Makikita ninyo ‘yun sa papel,” she added.
(So you can see on the paper, it’s there, it became P24 billion and that’s not all, because in 2023, I did not agree to not follow the DepEd rules on how to do classroom construction based on need, so what was done this 2024 was they attached the list where the classroom construction worth P17 billion will be done. You can see that in the paper.)
Duterte said this is the reason for her resignation as the DepEd secretary last July, as well as her refusal to answer queries during the recent budget deliberation at the House.
“Hindi na ako papayag na sa susunod na taon ganyan pa rin ang gawin nila at ako ‘yung mananagot sa ginagawa nila. Kaya ‘yan ‘yung sinasabi ko, ‘Oh, bakit pa tayo mag-question and answer dito para atakihin ninyo ako. Eh, ang masusunod lang naman sa budget dalawang tao lang,” she said.
(I will not allow them to do the same next year and they will blame me for it. So that’s what I’m saying, ‘Oh, why should we do a question and answer here, so that you can attack me?’ Only two people have a say on the budget.)
The Vice President, the eldest daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, rejected the “bratinella” tagging on her as she maintained that she is not a “spoiled brat” nor is she acting like one.
Duterte said being interviewed or being asked questions is not new to her.
“At alam ng taumbayan na hindi ako ‘bratinella’ o spoiled brat dahil kilala nila ako simula noong ako ay nasa Davao pa, simula ng ako ay mayor pa hanggang naging vice president ako. Kilala ako ng taumbayan na hindi ko inaabuso ang aking power and ang aking authority sa lahat ng mga opisina na nahawakan ko. Testigo ko ang buong bayan na hindi ako isang spoiled brat,” she said.
(The people know that I am not a ‘bratinella’ or spoiled brat because they have known me since I was still in Davao, since I was mayor until I became vice president. The people know me that I do not abuse my power and my authority in all the offices I have held. The whole town can attest that I am not a spoiled brat.)
“Sa palagay ko, hindi lang sanay ang iilan na mga miyembro ng House of Representatives na hindi nila makuha ‘yung gusto nila at gusto nilang marinig na sagot. At hindi sanay ‘yung mga iilan na mga representatives natin na sinasagot sila sa kanilang mga patutsada. Kaya sa tingin ko, isa din itong parang atake din nila na parang ‘Oh, bratinella ‘yan,’ kahit na sumagot naman ako. Hindi nga lang sa gusto nila,” she added.
(I think that some members of the House of Representatives are not used to not getting what they want. And those few of our representatives are not used to being answered in their questions. So I think it’s also one of their ways to attack me, like ‘Oh, that’s bratinella,’ even though I answered them. It’s not just what they want.)
On August 27, the House committee on appropriation deferred on the deliberation on the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) after Duterte refused to answer queries related to how the agency uses its budget.
Duterte said she is forgoing the opportunity for her to defend the OVP budget.
She engaged in a heated exchange with several House members who were attempting to ask her particularly about the confidential funds of the agency over the past years.
Duterte maintained that what should be discussed during the deliberation is their P2 billion proposed budget for 2025.
The Vice President was again a no show at the resumption of the OVP budget deliberation on Tuesday, September 10.
“The reasons for such have been addressed in a recent interview of the Vice President, released earlier this morning. Moreover, as stated in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives sent earlier today, the OVP has submitted all necessary documentation to the House of Representatives – Committee on Appropriations, including a detailed presentation on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025,” the OVP said in a statement.
“In view of the foregoing, the OVP defers entirely to the discretion and judgment of the Committee regarding its budget proposal for 2025,” it added.
During Tuesday’s deliberation, some members of the House had a heated discussion after Sagip Party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta insisted that the panel follow the institution’s tradition of giving courtesy to the OVP by no longer holding a deliberation on its proposed budget and to just send it straight to the plenary for approval.
Marcoleta raised a motion for the termination of the OVP’s budget deliberation but it was denied by the panel after a voting.
“Noong nakaraan kasi wala na dapat tanungan. Ang nangyari eh barrage of questions, that is why I’m asking bakit natin ginawa ‘yun earlier? Are we not already respecting a tradition well kept by the House? Pinagtatanong niyo siya meron pang bratinella whatever…that is disrespect to the Office of the Vice President,” he said.
“These questions not happened before… You may not like the person you may not like her presence here but you have to respect the Office of the Vice President. That is all because that is guided by the tradition,” he added.
In response, Representative Benny Abante maintained that the head of the agency should attend such proceedings.
“There’s also a cherished tradition that when we deliberate a budget of any agency that the head of agency should be present,” he said, adding that not showing up in the deliberation is an insult to the institution.
The deliberation was deferred anew. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
