In an unprecedented move, Speaker Martin Romualdez addressed the House of Representatives on Monday, which reconvened following a month-long recess, to declare that he is not fazed by critics who have blasted Congress for its handling of the issue of confidential funds.

"I will stand against anyone who would coerce us into complying with their demands. I will stand up — all of us — for the sake of the nation," the Speaker told members of the House during a 10-minute speech.

While no names were mentioned, Romualdez made the declaration some weeks after the House and its members were publicly called out by former president Rodrigo Duterte over the chamber's decision to strip his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, of P650 million in confidential funds in the 2024 budget.

In early October, the erstwhile president aired his dismay in a television program, alleging the realignment of funds was politically motivated and has to do with the 2028 polls, in which Romualdez and the VP are perceived to be front-runners.

Back in May, the VP who was seated as the ex-chairperson of Lakas-CMD headed by Romualdez, resigned from the party after the demotion of Pampanga lawmaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from her House senior deputy speaker position amid "coup" rumors against the House Speaker.

Allegations

The elder Duterte accused Romualdez of corruption and of sabotaging his daughter's request for the multi-million confidential funds, allegations that members of the House strongly condemned in a statement.

Duterte, a former Davao congressman from 1998 to 2001, also referred to Congress as "the most rotten institution" in the country.

Romualdez, in his speech on Monday, said the House was "never lenient, nor did it favor anyone," and that the chamber's decision on the confidential funds issue should not be interpreted as a personal affront.

"The entire process was dedicated to uplifting the lives of our fellow citizens and staying true to the fundamental principles of the system of checks and balances in the government. Wala pong personalan dito. Trabaho lang," he stressed.

The institution "is being threatened by opportunistic motives that aim to distract us from fulfilling our mandate," he lamented. But "Let not our hard work be undermined by a dissatisfied few whose only intention is to sow divisiveness. Instead, let our outputs speak for our loyalty to our country, the constitution, and the entire Filipino people."

The House chief gave credit to the "alert" minority bloc "for doing their share of spadework in digging into the finer details of the budget."

It was members of the minority, particularly the Makabayan bloc, that called for stripping several departments, including the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, of their confidential fund allotments, leading to the realignment of the secret funds to security and intel agencies.

The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Information and Communications Technology were among the five civilian agencies, along with the OVP and the DepEd, that the House awarded with zero confidential funds for 2024.

VP Duterte, who sought P500 million and P150 million in confidential funds for the OVP and the DepEd, respectively, had earlier accused critics of her confidential fund requests of having "insidious motivations."