DAVAO City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte came to the defense of Vice President Sara Duterte and the use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) following allegations of misuse made by Apa Ongpin.
“Before you start barking, maybe try running a city first, so you’d actually understand what governance means, sir,” Pulong said in a statement on Monday, October 21, 2025.
Duterte stressed that the CIF is not a “secret stash” and said Ongpin does not understand how such funds operate. He explained that CIFs are legally appropriated and audited under national guidelines, particularly Joint Circular No. 2015-01 issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Audit (COA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).
He added that the funds are used for information-gathering, security coordination, and confidential operations.
“Every disbursement requires proper documentation, liquidation, and is subject to COA post-audit. Hindi ito basta-basta lang na ginagastos kung kaning trip lang [This isn’t something that’s spent on just for fun or on a whim], contrary to your usual gossip-based conclusions,” he said.
Duterte claimed this is one of the reasons why leftist groups criticize the vice president, saying that her initiatives as education secretary curtailed the recruitment of the New People’s Army (NPA) at the grassroots level while strengthening the education sector.
Before questioning the Office of the Vice President (OVP) about its CIF, Duterte urged critics to “look around first,” noting that the OVP is not the only government agency receiving such funds.
He also criticized Ongpin for “playing investigative expert,” saying he should first understand how government operations work. Duterte challenged him to hold public office, manage crises, and lead people before lecturing others about accountability.
“Until then, keep your lectures to your boardroom, not on national policy. Governance is a responsibility you clearly haven’t carried,” he said.
Earlier, Ongpin, the executive director of the Makati Business Club (MBC), criticized Vice President Duterte in an interview with Bilyonaryo News Channel over the alleged misuse of CIFs, saying the funds should have been spent on national security instead of what he described as “Mary Jane Piattos.”
“They’re misspent. They’re not being spent on national security. She can’t show where the money went, you know, and what results of the investigation. I don’t see them,” Ongpin said.
“So yeah, I mean, when you’ve budgeted money for security, you better spend it on security, not on, you know, Mary Jane Piattos,” he added.
Ongpin maintained that the funds should be used for genuine security purposes and that failure to do so reflects a lack of proper utilization and accountability. RGP