"TRIGGERED" is the word that first came to mind when I watched Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Risa Hontiveros during a 2025 budget hearing on Tuesday, August 20.
Hontiveros inquired about the P10 million allotment that the Office of the Vice President is proposing in order to publish a 16-page children's book entitled, "Isang Kaibigan (A Friend)," which is a part of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) flagship “PagbaBAGo Campaign.”
At the back of the book is Duterte’s photograph and short profile, with the last line that reads, “Sya ay isang tunay na kaibigan (She is a true friend).”
"Tell us more about the book, and how many copies of it will be bought by the government for P10 million and will be distributed along with school bags to 1 million learners in remote communities?" asked Hontiveros in Filipino.
Instead of directly answering, however, Duterte said, "This is an example of politicizing the budget hearing through the questions of a senator."
Duterte alleged that Hontiveros had a problem with her photograph and name appearing on the book because it will reach children whose parents were voters.
"Oh, she is triggered," was my first thought.
Hontiveros, apparently taken aback, said “I don’t appreciate this kind of attitude,” and reminded Duterte of the institutional courtesy that branches of the government should provide to one another.
Duterte quipped, “I also do not appreciate this kind of behavior and attitude.”
The Vice President then went on a litany about some time in 2016 when Hontiveros asked Duterte for help to gain voters in Davao City. And yet when former President Rodrigo Duterte came into office in 2016, the senator was the first to attack him.
To quote a famous pop song by Charli XCX and Lorde – Girl, so confusing. Why had the conversation turned so sour?
It is apparent that Duterte has a chip on her shoulder toward Hontiveros, but at a budget hearing, senators are expected to inquire about proposed items involving public funds. These are not meant to be personal attacks.
Verily, Article VI, Section 25, paragraph 2 of the 1987 Constitution, aims to weed out allocations that are not aligned with the purpose for which the budget is provided.
It’s concerning and disheartening, that two powerful women in leadership roles could not stand each other enough to properly address public matters at hand. In the end, the consequences of political tiffs like this would trickle down to State policies that could be detrimental to the masses. All because they couldn’t “work it out on the remix.”