It is never too late for Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio to express her bitterness against the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The vice president unleashed her harshest criticism yet, stating that the country’s leader “doesn’t know how to be a president.” Surprisingly, the President and his surrogates chose to ignore the vice president’s tirades.
The vice president described Marcos as someone who does not appear to have a clear platform for governance. Despite this overt attack, the Office of the President opted to disregard her invectives against both him and his administration.
However, wouldn’t the President’s allies call out the vice president for attempting to divert public attention from the ongoing congressional scrutiny regarding her use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) related to the proposed budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) next year? During a news conference shared live on her Facebook account, Vice President Sara alleged that she possesses a list of impeachable offenses committed by Marcos but declined to elaborate. Was she merely venting her frustrations?
The troubles for Vice President Sara began when she left her position as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), coinciding with investigations by congressmen considered allies of President Marcos into how she spent her substantial CIF budget. This inquiry has intensified the rift between the two top leaders in our country.
The budget for the OVP was cut by more than 60 percent by the House of Representatives. In a somewhat childish remark, the vice president claimed she once told Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, that she would “dig up” the body of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and “dump it in the West Philippine Sea” if attacks against her continued. She noted that the senator did not respond.
Vice President Sara called for a briefing after President Marcos expressed feeling “deceived” when she stated that they were not friends during their campaign team that secured victory in the 2022 elections. Their friendship appears nonexistent now.
The vice president attended a budget hearing once but refused to take an oath and testify. Last Saturday, Oct. 19, ranking members of the House of Representatives challenged Vice President Sara to testify under oath and directly address allegations regarding the misuse of OVP’s CIFs and to come clean.
Deputy Majority Leader Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre stated: “This is a clear misuse of public funds. The vice president claimed her office spent millions on activities already funded by the military. Why lie about where the money went? We need to know what the OVP did with these funds.”
The House Committee on Good Government’s hearing on Thursday, Oct. 17, revealed that during Vice President Sara’s tenure as secretary, DepEd falsely reported to the Commission on Audit that it used ₱15 million of its CIFs in connection with the 8th Youth Leadership Summits (YLS). It was found that most expenses for YLS that year were covered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units.
On another note, Assistant Majority Leader La Union First District Rep. Paolo Ortega V remarked: “We are still waiting for the vice president to explain the need for 34 safehouses in less than two weeks. The public has the right to know why ₱16 million of their money was spent so dubiously.”
So, when will the investigation into OVP’s CIFs conclude?