By Junex Doronio
AFTER EXPRESSING HIS OPPOSITION to allocating confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) to civilian agencies on the heels of the controversial P125 million CIF spending of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in just 11 days in 2022 and the botched request for P650 million CIF for the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd), lawyer Melvin Matibag has resigned from his post as Secretary-General and as a member of the PDP-Laban, which is chaired by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
“I am resigning as secretary-general and as a member of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan,” Matibag said in his letter to the former president that was forwarded through PDP-Laban President and Palawan Rep. Pepito Alvarez.
Matibag is the husband of Laguna Rep. Ma. Rene Ann Lourdes Matibag.
“I apologize for the apparent inopportuneness of my resignation. However, I will always be available to give assistance to ensure a smooth and seamless transfer of my duties and responsibilities,” he added.
The 78-year-old former Chief Executive has rushed to defend his beleaguered daughter Vice President Sara Duterte due to the controversies rocking the OVP and DepEd in connection with the CIF.
FPRRD assailed the House of Representatives led by his daughter’s arch-political rival Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez after realigning the P650 million confidential funds for 2024 of the OVP and DepEd to the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (P300 million), National Security Council (P100 million) and Philippine Coast Guard (P200 million).
“I am forever grateful for [the] trust and confidence you have bestowed to me as the party’s secretary-general. I believe I have shown my loyalty to you as the chairman by helping to steer the party in the direction you have taken, especially during the national elections of 2019 and 2022,” Matibag said. (ai/mnm)