Vice President Sara Duterte’s unseemly remarks against President Marcos and his family continues to draw flak from lawmakers across the local political scene.
At the Lower Chamber, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre on Sunday hit Vice President Sara Duterte, saying she should “behave like an educated adult and stop acting like a child” by addressing the core issue on how she spent the confidential funds allotted to her office.
“It’s very disturbing to see the second highest official of the country resorting to petty threats, childish threats. Can she not make sense of the P125 million confidential funds that she must have enjoyed for spending it in just 11 days?” he asked.
He said Duterte seems to fit the description of the classic case of a government official who is “feeling entitled.”
Similarly, Rep. Jay Khonghun challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to cease her “budol” [trickery] theatrics and directly address the military officials’ vehement denial that she allocated P15 million from the Department of Education’s confidential funds for the Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) in 2023.
“It’s enough to scam and make excuses. The public is waiting for a clear answer about your unexplained use of confidential funds. Even the military resisted because you made them appear that they benefited from then YLS fund,” he said Sunday.
“No amount of on-screen meltdowns can bury the issue of the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under either the Office of the Vice President or DepEd. The Filipino people demand answers,” Khonghun added.
For his part, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said the Vice President’s tirade against Mr. Marcos should not be allowed to draw attention away from the real issue at hand — her suspected misuse of public funds.
“This is just the latest in a series of alleged misuse of public funds. Unfortunately, the Vice President has never addressed these issues directly and instead resorts to making outlandish statements. All soundbytes, but no substance,” he said in a mixture of Filipino and English.
Meanwhile, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro called for a comprehensive investigation into the reported anomalies within the Department of Education during Duterte’s term as education secretary.
In a statement, she said “the allegations of cash gifts and misuse of funds at DepEd are deeply troubling and demand a thorough investigation. It is crucial to uphold integrity and transparency in our education system, which is fundamental to the development of our youth.”
Over the weekend, Senate President Francis Escudero called Duterte’s rants against the Marcoses “unbecoming of the second highest official of the land.”
Escudero said Duterte’s acerbic comments against the First Family during a press conference broadcast live on multiple platforms on Friday did her no favors, instead, only portrayed her in a bad light.
Duterte claimed she told Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, in a group chat that she will dig up the grave of their father at Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig City and throw the remains to the West Philippine Sea.
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