By Junex Doronio

MANILA – Four neophyte lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Wednesday (November 6, 2024) lauded the Senate Committee on Finance’s decision to adopt the House version of the proposed P733 million budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025.

In a press conference held on Wednesday (06 Nov 2024), Representatives Jude Acidre (Party-list, TINGOG), Zia Alonto Adiong (1st District, Lanao del Sur), Lordan Suan (1st District, Cagayan de Oro City), and Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon (Party-list, AKO BICOL) emphasized that this move confirms the House Committee on Appropriations’ decision to reduce the OVP budget and realign the P1.2 billion to other agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was “fair and free of politics.”

The Senate Finance Committee adopted the House version after the OVP failed to submit documents needed to clarify issues surrounding their proposed budget.

Rep. Acidre expressed concern that a government office would bypass established processes, particularly in the crafting of the national budget.

Regarding the upcoming 10th public hearing of the Quad Committee, the lawmakers voiced hope that former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte would appear before the panel, as he holds crucial answers about the implementation of his administration’s war on drugs.

They reiterated that the Quad Committee is not a court of law, but rather a body designed to uncover the truth and hold individuals accountable.

The lawmakers also clarified that, contrary to malicious claims, the purpose of the hearings conducted by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is not to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.

The investigation into the use of confidential funds is aimed at legislative improvement, especially given its relevance to the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

ia/mnm

Image Courtesy of Inday Sara Duterte Official Facebook Account

By Junex Doronio

SETTING ASIDE THEIR POLITICAL COLORS, various lawmakers from the two chambers of Congress led by House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri have agreed to reallocate confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) to agencies in charge of intelligence and surveillance activities in the face of continuing incursions of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

This unprecedented move, in effect, nipped in the bud, so to speak, future requests for CIF by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) which has maintained that the issue of its P125-million CIF spent in only 11 days in 2022 would be answered when its proposed P2.3-billion budget for 2024 is discussed in the House plenary.

“Recognizing the rising security threats in the West Philippine Sea and the need to secure top officials, these agencies are better positioned to counteract security threats, protect our territorial waters, and secure the rights and access of Filipino fishermen to traditional fishing grounds,” the congressmen said on Wednesday in a joint statement.

They said beneficiaries of this reallocation include the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the National Security Council (NSC), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Among those who signed the joint statement were Representatives Michael John Duavit (1st District, Rizal), Johnny Pimentel (2nd District, Surigao del Sur), Eleandro Mendoza (Romblon), Jose Aquino (1st District, Agusan del Norte), Angelica Co (BHW party-list) and LRay Villafuerte (2nd District, Camarines Sur).

On behalf of the upper house, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri declared that they also intend to reallocate unnecessary funds in certain agencies to the intelligence agencies, the PCG, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“We have agreed in the Senate to do the same. We also will [be] reallocating funds that we feel are not necessary for the use of certain agencies and allocate them to our Intelligence Community as well as our Coast Guard and AFP,” Zubiri said in a Viber message to reporters on Wednesday.

It was administration ally Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo who revealed that the P125-million OVP confidential funds were spent in only 11 days.

Ironically, Quimbo has been defending the OVP’s confidential funds, but now she was speaking on behalf of the Commission on Audit (COA) during the plenary deliberation on the proposed 2024 budget.

“What can VP Sara (Duterte) show for it? Nag-mass hiring ba ang OVP ng libo-libong informant sa loob lang ng 11 na araw? Nagpatayo ba sila ng daan-daang safehouse sa loob lamang ng 11 na araw?” opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros quipped.

“Babalik lang tayo sa paulit-ulit na tanong: Saan niyo dinala ang pera? Naghihintay ng resibo ang buong Pilipinas,” she said. (ai/mnm)