đź“·ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro
CONGRESS is a separate co-equal branch of the government and as such may not be dictated upon as to how legislative procedures should unfold, says a partylist legislator in reference to Vice President Sara Duterte’s display of arrogance, stubbornness and authoritarian attitude.
According to ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro, the Vice President should seriously consider revisiting the 1987 Constitution where mandates, power and limitation of the three branches of government are stipulated.
During the two-hour congressional budget deliberation on the P2.037-billion proposed budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Duterte stood firm against answering questions pitched by the members of the House Committee on Appropriations, for which the panel deferred its approval.
“Nakita natin yung tunay na ugali ng ating VP. Feeling niya underdog siya,” Castro was quoted as saying in a radio interview, adding that Duterte just repeatedly stated what seemed to be a template whenever she’s asked about how her funds were used.
“Parang ayaw niya ng accountability, transparency. Pinigilan niya ang taumbayan ng right to information,” she said.
Castro likewise claimed that never before did a resource person make such a preposterous demand to replace the presiding officer – in this case, appropriations panel Senior Vice Chairperson Rep. Stella Quimbo.
“Ngayon lang kami nakakita na isang resource person na magdidikta sa committee,” she added.
With such arrogance, Castro finds it rather imperative to slash OVP’s proposed budget by half since there aren’t many programs under Duterte’s mandate.
“Hindi trabaho ng VP ang pagpapalimbag ng libro niya. Yung ginagastos niya sa ayuda, andyan DSWD, DOH, DTI Tesda sa livelihood. Tatanggalin ko yun kasi wala naman sa mandate niya,” an obviously pissed off Castro averred. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
