MANILA Rep. Joel Chua has asked Vice President Sara Duterte to explain why she was missing and silent when the country needed her most, especially when the Chinese Coast Guard is harassing and bullying Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.
Chua indicated that the country’s No. 2 official, whose father, former President Rodrigo Duterte is a friend of China, is evading issues involving Beijing and its citizens linked to criminal activities here.
“Nasaan siya noong binubutas ng China Coast Guard ang rubber boats ng mga Pinoy at sinasagasaan sa dagat ang fishing boats ng ating mga mangingisda?” the Manila lawmaker asked.
He said Vice President should be pro-Filipino and should not be tightlipped when issues involving China crop up.
“Maka-Pilipino dapat, hindi yung nananahimik kapag China na ang isyu,” he said.
Chua further asked: “Nasaan siya noong parating na ang Typhoon Carina, noong pumutok ang Mount Kanlaon, noong may bombang sumabog sa Mindanao State University, noong tinutuyot ng El Niño ang mga palayan? Nasaan siya noong kailangan siya ng mga Pilipinong sabi niya'y mahal niya?”
At the height of recent Super Typhoon Carina, VP Duterte flew to Munich, Germany with her family for a vacation.
Chua also said the Vice President has a penchant for gimmicky, comedy, nonsenseand posing for selfies to cover for her lack of performance.
“Magaling lang siya sa matatamis na salita at talinhaga. Pero kapag tanungin na ng mga detalye puro iwas, puro pagpapatawa, puro drama pero kapos sa matinong paliwanag. Kapag tinimbang, laging kulang,” he said.
“Nasaan ang kanyang marka sa pamamahala bilang Bise Presidente? Ipakita niya kung siya mismo bilang VP ay may ginawa para magka-trabaho ang mga Pilipino, lumago ang MSMEs, sumagip ng buhay sa pamamagitan ng health care,” he said.
He added that VP Duterte “is misrepresenting herself as a champion of the masses using empty words and generalizations, all the while having nothing real and concrete to show for in terms of true results as Vice President and as education secretary.”
Chua vowed that he and his colleagues would make the Vice President account for her huge spending over the last three years when the House takes up the OVP budget.
“Siya ba'y komedyante, panay selfie, feeling artista, pero wala namang aktuwal na ginagawa? Patunayan niya sa Kongreso kung anong ginawa niya sa budget niya noong 2022, 2023, at ngayong 2024,” Chua said.
“When the OVP budget is tackled soon at the House, she should no longer be given a free pass. Her OVP budget must be scrutinized for every spent and not spent. No more and never again shall the VP not be held to the same level of scrutiny as other public officials during the budget hearings,” he said.
He said Duterte should explain where every peso of the OVP budget was used.
The OVP had P702 million in 2022, when VP Duterte took over from then VP Leni Robredo. This jumped more than three times to P2.343 billion in 2023. This year, OVP is allocated P1.874 billion.
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