By Joseph Anthony A. Damgo
Lawmakers have urged caution against premature speculation that the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) could serve as ground for impeachment.
This comes after the House Committee on Appropriations recently approved a motion to subpoena COA’s report on the utilization of these funds from 2022 to 2023.
It can be recalled that last year, COA reported that the Office of the Vice President spent P125 million in CIF in just 11 days, which translates to around P11 million spent per day.
The Vice President corrected the information saying the money was spent in 19 days or from Dec. 13 to 31, 2022.
House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin warned against jumping to conclusions, saying that the intention behind the motion to subpoena COA’s findings by Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, was primarily to ensure proper safeguards for the allocation of confidential funds.
“Let's cross the bridge when it comes. Sa pananaw ko, ang intention ay hindi na maulit kung saka-sakali meron talagang misuse ng confidential fund,” Garin said during Wednesday’s press conference at the House of Representatives.
Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong also weighed in, underscoring that the COA's findings are part of the regular budgeting process and that there is no indication so far that these findings would lead to an impeachment process.
“Impeachment is not only divisive but also counterproductive," Adiong stated. "It counters the things that we do here in the House of Representatives. We are aiming to really push for the progress of our country, economically, socially, and in terms of peace and order."
Adiong further emphasized that focusing on an impeachment process without clear grounds would undermine the significant legislative work being done in Congress.
“Based on your question, there’s currently no indication that would lead to that kind of exercise," he said in response to a media query.
For his part, 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez stressed that impeachment is a serious constitutional process with strict grounds.
“Impeachment is not a light matter, this is explicitly mentioned by the Constitution. There are very strict grounds for these," Gutierrez said.
He added that even if COA's findings were to indicate any issues, it would still be a long process to determine whether those findings would justify impeachment.
“It would be improper for us to comment on whether that would be sufficient grounds for impeachment,” Gutierrez said.
At the same time, lawmakers urged the Vice President to identify the individuals allegedly spreading rumors about an impeachment effort against her, following her recent claims that the information came from her “close friends” within the House of Representatives.
In a press conference, ther House members reiterated that there has been no discussion of impeachment within the chamber as they underscored the importance of focusing on legislative work rather than baseless rumors.
House Assistant Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V rejected the allegations, pointing out that House had already addressed the matter and confirmed there was no basis for such claims.
“Pero siguro, i-identify nalang niya ‘yung mga friends niya na nagsabi para ‘yung mga friends niya ang magsabi kung tama po ‘yung mga nakukuha nilang impormasyon mula sa grapevine. Dito po sa House of Representatives, wala namang napag-uusapan,” Ortega said.
Garin noted that despite spending significant time in Congress, she has not heard any talk of impeachment.
She pointed out that in public service, some people seek attention through unfounded actions, and urged the Vice President to be cautious about such baseless reports.
“Napakasayang nung oras na napupunta sa usaping wala namang kwenta at wala naman talagang nangyayari. Ang daming trabaho dito sa Kongreso, at lahat busy sa pag-scrutinize at pagpapasa ng budget,” Garin said.
“Kung sino man ‘yung nag-iintriga, eh sana sabihin kung sino sila para malaman natin kung ito ba ay may vested interest, o tila nililinlang ang bise presidente, o ito ba ay gusto lang ng fireworks dahil walang magawa sa buhay,” she added.
Gutierrez said that he and his colleagues have not heard any talk of impeachment within the House.
He noted that House members have been focused on budget deliberations, various committee hearings, and coordination with government agencies in connection with the much-praised Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF).
“Napaka-busy po ng mga congressman natin dito. So, I’m not sure po kung saan nanggagaling ‘yung allegation of impeachment,” Gutierrez said.
“If they could perhaps, katulad ni Cong. Ortega, if they could substantiate the claims and say, sino bang nagsasabi nito and point at certain persons, then perhaps that would be more helpful for us to really thresh out. But as far as we're concerned, parang wala naman po,” he added.
Adiong called for an end to the impeachment rumors.
Adiong highlighted that the House, under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, is focused on advancing the nation's interests and promoting unity.
“Kami po dito sa House of Representatives...every day po, every session week, every committee hearings, public hearings, nandirito po kami. And I personally can categorically say na wala pong usapin ‘non," Adiong said.
He warned that such baseless speculations only serve to create political disunity and are counterproductive to the positive work being done by Congress.
Also, Garin said the heated discussion between Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Risa Hontiveros during the budget briefing of the former’s office sets a bad example, especially when the subject of the argument is a children’s book on friendship.
Garin said Duterte may have been influenced by rumormongers going into the hearing as she was visibly offended by the question of Hontiveros on the P10 million allocation for a children’s book the vice president claims she authored.
“What happened yesterday in the Senate is something that should not be copied in future budget deliberations kasi medyo, I mean, especially for the younger generation watching, medyo pangit tingnan,” Garin noted.
“Kasi ang deliberasyon eh pondo ng gobyerno. Saan napupunta ang buwis ng bayan? We can always answer, oh merong libro, kailangan iyan because it is teaching children morals and values, and friendship is actually part of mental health,” she said.
“Siguro may mga bumulong, may mga nang-intriga kaya tuloy ang sagot ni VP Sara is parang pinersonal nya. Parang kapareho kasi yan dun sa (rumors na) pinapa-impeach ka pagdating dito sa Kongreso, syempre parang off na kaagad, precondition yung mind nya probably na yung mga kaharap niya ay masasamang tao kasi may nagsulsol,” Garin added.
But in budget hearings, Garin said, there will always be legislators who will ask about all the priority programs of a department or an office because the funds in question are public in nature.
“That's why as government officials, it's really very important for us to be wary about the solsuleras and mga marites because … they will also have their own vested interest … but you know in budget briefings, talagang you just ask about each program,” she said.
The OVP’s budget is set to be deliberated at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, August 27.
“Well, in a budget briefing, any question can be thrown as long as it’s still related to the budget because when we deal about the budget, we’re talking about where taxpayer’s money are going,” Garin said.
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