Image Courtesy of Inday Sara Duterte Official Facebook Account
By Junex Doronio
LIKE MAGIC, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent its 2022 confidential funds amounting to P125 million in just 11 days.
This was revealed on Monday by Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo who became an unexpected and instant ally of Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas who — along with her fellow lawmakers from the so-called Makabayan bloc — thought the OVP confidential funds were spent in 19 days.
“Ang totoo po ay nagulat din po ako nung mabasa ko ang mga balita na tila nagastos po sa loob ng 19 days [ang CF]… Tinanong ko po ang COA (Commission on Audit) at tiningnan ko po ang mga iba’t ibang mga reports pero hindi po ito nagastos sa loob ng 19 days kung hindi 11 days po,” Quimbo said.
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.
The Marikina City solon said the COA has asked the OVP to further explain and provide more documents to support its use of the P125-million confidential funds in 2022.
Quimbo further stated that the OVP submitted its liquidation report back in January 2023 and the COA issued an audit observation memorandum in September for the OVP to explain.
With the anti-communist stance of VP Duterte and the penchant to red-tag government critics, Brosas appeared more apprehensive.
“Eleven days, ang hirap isipin kasi parang kung surveillance yan, ilang reward payment po yan na aabot ng P11 million per day,” she blurted out. (ai/mnm)