📷Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop
Vice President Sara Duterte’s outburst at a press conference last Friday showed a flaw in her behavior,
Acop made the remark in a press briefing after Duterte lashed out at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family. The lawmaker said the Vice President had already lost her decency.
“When a person has too much anger in her, her sense of decency is lost, in my opinion,” Acop said.
“And sometimes, how you manage the hate in your body and attacks against you, it’s also a test of your character … So in the case of the VP, it seems that a flaw in her character is coming out because her character is overwhelmed by her anger,” he added.
Acop also mentioned that Duterte’s outbursts would not discourage the House from continuing its investigation.
A day before Duterte’s media briefing, it was revealed during a House of Representatives committee hearing on good government and public accountability that the Office of the Vice President used its confidential fund (CF) to rent 34 safe houses worth P16 million for 11 days in December 2022.
Lawmakers also noted that while Duterte headed the Department of Education (DepEd), it appeared that the CF was allocated for a youth training program, even though most of the expenses were covered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and local government units (LGUs).
Instead of addressing questions about fund use during her Friday briefing, Duterte began by recounting her journey to the vice presidency and disclosed that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, strongly advised against her running for president. She also took the opportunity to criticize former allies in the UniTeam, including President Marcos and her former campaign manager, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Later, Duterte dismissed the accusations against DepEd made in Thursday’s committee hearing, claiming that lawmakers were attempting to create a narrative of CF misuse to tarnish her public image.
“For us, performing one’s duty should be the primordial consideration. That’s our job,” Acop said.
“There should be no let up to show what really happened to the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was still the secretary. Because if we would give leeway, it would not be in accordance with our mandate,” he added. (TCSP)
