Bantay Budget convenor and Makabayan president Liza Maza condemned members of the House of Representatives for failing to confront Vice President Sara Duterte over questionable spending during today’s appropriations committee hearing.
Maza said lawmakers handled Duterte with undue leniency, choosing to sidestep accountability rather than press her for answers on the missing ₱125 million in confidential funds and other flagged expenses.
“Nakakahiya ang karamihan ng mga miyembro ng Kamara na parang mga tuta na hindi nagtanong sa mga mahalagang isyu. Kung hindi dahil sa Makabayan bloc nina Rep. Tinio at Rep. Co walang magtatatanong kay VP Duterte tungkol sa nawalang P125 million confidential funds,” Maza said.
“We assail both members of the majority and minority who were silent during the proceedings and did not raise the issues that were flagged in past committee hearings,” she added.
The Bantay Budget convenor noted that it was only the Makabayan bloc, composed of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Atty. Renee Louise Co who pressed the Vice President on critical issues including the P125 million confidential funds that remain unexplained and her numerous travels funded at least partly by taxpayers’ money.
“VP Duterte even used the archived impeachment case against her to evade answering legitimate questions,” Maza stated.
Maza criticized the numerous interruptions from Duterte’s allies during the hearing, including Representatives Marcoleta, Ungab, and even budget sponsor Alvarez who even answered for the Vice President instead of allowing her to respond directly.
“Nakikita natin ang kakaibang laro ng mga alyado ni Duterte sa Kamara. Prinopoteksyunan nila si VP Duterte imbes na hayaan siyang sumagot sa mga tanong tungkol sa pera ng bayan,” she added.
The veteran activist and budget watchdog emphasized that the House’s role is to scrutinize government spending, not to protect officials from legitimate questioning.
“The people deserve answers on how their tax money is being spent, r” Maza concluded.
Bantay Budget continues to monitor government expenditures and calls on all lawmakers to fulfill their constitutional duty of oversight over public funds. #
