Romualdez: Realignment of VP Sara’s confidential funds ‘nothing personal’
The House of Representatives stripping Vice President Sara Duterte's multi-million in confidential funds is nothing personal.
Speaker Martin Romualdez cleared the air in a late press conference on Thursday, saying that the realignment of Duterte's P650 million in confidential funds to security and intelligence forces was the "right thing" and had nothing to do with their previous dispute.
"We are all for confidential funds. We are all for peace and security. We are in total agreement that the utilization of confidential and intelligence funds is to promote peace and security," Romualdez told reporters.
"That's why we are in Pag-asa Island today, looking for ways to make sure the peace and security of the country as a whole is protected," he said.
Taking note of Duterte's previous statement that she left her secret funds to the sound discretion of Congress, Romualdez said they felt that it best to realign to agencies and departments and to the areas such as Pag-asa Island that need priority.
The House chief's remark came at the heels of Duterte's statement that critics of confidential funds allocated for peace and order are "naturally assumed to have insidious motivations. "
The VP even branded the critics as "enemies of the nation" who are "against peace."
Duterte sought P2.395 billion and P758.6 billion for OVP and DepEd in the proposed 2024 budget, including P500 million and P150 million in confidential funds, respectively.
The House leadership, however, revoked Duterte's P650 million confidential funds following a consensus by the chamber's party leaders to realign it to agencies involved in security and intelligence, such as the Philippine Coast Guard, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Security Council, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources amid China's persistent assertiveness in the West Philippine Sea.
The augmentation of the funds of security forces was to safeguard Philippine territorial waters and guarantee Filipino fishermen's rights and access to their traditional fishing grounds, the House said.