Vice President Sara Duterte is no longer interested in obtaining P500 million in confidential funds in the next fiscal year for the agencies she heads, Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara said Thursday.

On the second day of the marathon Senate plenary debates on the P5.768-trillion proposed national budget for 2024, Angara said he had received a letter from Duterte informing him of her decision.

Duterte, who is concurrent Secretary of Education, had sought a total of P500 million in confidential funds for both offices. The House of Representatives, however, removed the outlays from the final version of the General Appropriations Bill.

"Your honor, actually, we are in receipt of a statement from the VP [and] we discussed [it] earlier. According to her, the OVP can only propose a budget to support the safe implementation of its programs to alleviate poverty and promote [the] general welfare of each and every Filipino family," Angara told fellow senators, addressing the Senate President.

"Nonetheless, they will no longer pursue the confidential and intelligence funds or the confidential funds. And the reason is because it seems to be divisive and, as the VP, she swore and [took an] oath to keep the country peaceful and strong," Angara said.

Michael Poa, Duterte's spokesperson, reiterated her decision to drop the confidential funds request in a chance interview at the Senate.

"We always say in the Office of the Vice President that we can only suggest a budget to the Congress for the proper implementation of our projects to address poverty and to promote the welfare of every Filipino family," Poa said.

"Nevertheless, (VP Duterte) would no longer pursue her request for confidential funds. Why? Because we've seen the tendency of the issue to become divisive," he said.

Duterte's request for confidential funds drew flak from legislators. She found herself in a word war with Senate Deputy Leader Risa Hontiveros after the latter had questioned her request for confidential funds.

At one point, she clapped back at the critics of the confidential funds.

"Whoever is against confidential funds is against peace. Whoever is against peace is an enemy of the state," Duterte said.

A week before the recent month-long Congress break, the House of Representatives removed the confidential funds of five agencies, including the Duterte-led offices, which earned the ire of the Vice President's father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In a television interview, the elder Duterte suggested that the removal of the confidential funds for his daughter's offices was politically motivated.

Early this week, Romualdez took an indirect swipe at the former president at the resumption of the House session, stressing that he would "stand and fight against anyone who scares us into following what they want."

On Tuesday, the House leadership removed former president, now Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab from the deputy speakership.

Arroyo and Ungab are both allies of the former president.