"Trabaho lang, walang drama" (Just work, no drama).

This was what Senator Risa Hontiveros said in reply to Vice President Sara Duterte's barb that she "amuses" the nation with her flair for drama over the VP office's request for confidential funds.

"VP Sara, I thought the OVP (Office of the Vice President) can live without confidential funds? Then why do you seem to be sweating over a budget hearing? All agencies are releasing their proposed budget," Hontiveros asked in statement.

"You are not special. If you're so confident about those confidential funds, then defend them publicly," she added.

Duterte, who heads the OVP and Department of Education, is requesting a total of P650 million worth of confidential funds for the two agencies — P500 million and P150 million, respectively.

The Vice President had earlier slammed Hontiveros and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, who both inquired about the confidential funds sought by offices under her watch.

"Senator Risa Hontiveros, while she amuses the nation with her flair for drama, could only wish the 2022 OVP [confidential fund] was accessed illegally. It's a shame they still cannot produce any proof to support their dirty imagination," Duterte said in her statement.

"The indignity they have caused Congress and the Senate should be enough for us not to give them serious attention," she added.

Hontiveros and Castro both condemned the transfer of P125 million worth of confidential funds from the Office of the President to the OVP, which Duterte admitted during the Senate Committee on Finance's deliberations on the proposed P2.385 billion budget last week.

In refuting Duterte's claims, Hontiveros stressed that she is only doing her job as a legislator and budget scrutinizer.

"It feels like the standards of the OVP have gone very low now. One is only doing one's job, and yet is accused of amusing the nation right away?" she said.

"If there is anything amusing, it's the almost half-hour of pointing fingers, evading questions, giving winding answers, and twisting the situation. They made the basic process of scrutinizing the people's money a circus," Hontiveros added.

The lawmaker also maintained her position that the transfer of funds from the OP to the OVP last year was "illegal" and "unconstitutional."

"I don't need to wish to have access to your office's illegal confidential funds," she said. "At least two former Senate Presidents — Senator [Franklin] Drilon and Senator (Koko) Pimentel — have said that the transfer of funds from the OP to OVP was illegal and unconstitutional."

Hontiveros urged the Vice President to answer what she described as the "real issue"; "Why does Duterte, the VP and Secretary of the Department of Education, have bigger confidential funds compared to the combined confidential funds of the DND (Department of National Defense) and the NICA (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency)?"

"Why does she need a huge funding that will not be audited or disclosed to the public?" she asked.

"Given the significant responsibility of government officials, I demand a shred of competence when it comes to fiscal matters — like any Filipino taxpayer," she added.

She continued: "Instead of spewing personal attacks and avoiding questions, it would be better if VP Sara herself just clarified the funds of her office for a national budget that is more transparent, more effective, and more responsive to the needs of our countrymen."