Face House, explain intel funds, Sara urged

For the first time since they had a falling out, Speaker Martin Romualdez spoke openly about his estranged ally, Vice President Sara Duterte, advising her to face the congressional probe on her alleged misuse of confidential funds.

- DELON PORCALLA

"She should attend, take oath and explain because of all her officials, only one has knowledge about the funds," he told Manila-based reporters who covered the mini-Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair yesterday that will provide assistance to victims of several calamities that hit the region.

The leader of the House of Representatives, who has incurred Duterte's wrath, was referring to the P612.5 million that the committee on good government and public accountability has been investigating, where hundreds of millions turned out to be questionable.

The Vice President also attacked President Marcos, who was her running mate in the May 2022 presidential elections, shortly after the P125 million in confidential funds she received in December 2022 became the subject of notice of disallowance of the Commission on Audit.

There were also other substantial amounts that were discovered to be anomalous, since the Office of the Vice President obtained a total of P500 million in confidential and intelligence funds, and P112.5 million when she was still head of the Department of Education until July 19 this year.

The Speaker is in the Bicol region as the House launched "Tabang Bicol, Tindog Oragon" initiative that delivered a total of P850 million in aid to victims of typhoons Pepito, Nika, Kristine, Marce and Leon.

House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe also urged Duterte to face Congress and stop her "calculated strategy of evasion and deflection." "Stop playing the victim. Stop the deception. The Vice President should stop using her staff as human shields.

It is about time she face Congress, answer the questions and stop blaming others for her failures and fear of accountability," Dalipe said.

Dalipe was reacting to Duterte's claim that her staff and officials, whom she described as non-politicians, did not deserve the scrutiny brought by the House's investigation.