VICE President Sara Duterte-Carpio has welcomed the filing of a petition against the 2022 confidential funds of her office.
In a statement, Duterte said she is hoping that the Supreme Court will be able put an end to the discussions regarding the confidential funds.
“Malugod po naming tinatanggap ang pagkakataong talakayin ang legalidad ng paglilipat ng pondo. Umaasa kami na ang dunong ng Korte Suprema ay magiging daan upang tuluyang matapos ang usapin na ito,” she said.
(We welcome the opportunity to discuss the legality of fund transfers. We hope that the wisdom of the Supreme Court will pave the way to finally end this matter.)
On Tuesday, November 7, a group of lawyers, constitutional experts and economists filed a petition for certiorari seeking to declare the transfer of P125 million by the Office of the President to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) unconstitutional.
It also seeks to order the Office of the Vice President to return the funds to the government treasury.
The P125 million, which was utilized by the OVP as confidential funds, is part of the P221.4 million released by the Office of the President (OP), under its contingent fund, to the agency on December 13, 2022.
The funds were spent in just 11 days.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel earlier questioned the release of the funds, noting that confidential funds are not in the line budgeting of the OVP in 2022.
For 2023, the House of Representatives did not allocate confidential funds to the OVP or the Department of Education (DepEd), which are both under Duterte.
Duterte said the focus now should be in addressing various issues in the country, such as the increase of prices of commodities, ensuring quality education and protecting the students, as well as DepEd personnel against all threats and abuses.
“Napakahalagang pagtuunan rin natin ng pansin ang pag-tugon sa mga mahahalagang isyu ukol sa presyo ng mga bilihin na nakakaapekto sa ating mga mag-aaral at kanilang mga pamilya,” she said.
(It is also very important that we focus on addressing the most important issues that affect our students and their families.) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)