"We're okay. I believe I still have the trust of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr."

Thus said Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday in a chance interview with reporters on the sidelines of the World Children's Day celebration at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

Amid the perceived cracks in the UniTeam coalition that carried Marcos and her to landslide victories in the 2022 elections, she said her rapport with the President remained good.

Irritants between Duterte and the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the President, had developed over P650 million in the confidential budget she had sought for 2024 for the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.

The House realigned the amount to agencies tasked with security matters like the Philippine Coast Guard, saying the latter needs full budgetary support for its missions to assert Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

China had been increasing its aggressive actions in the WPS against Filipino fishermen and Philippine government assets, claiming the area as its own territory as part of the South China Sea.

'Frontrunners'

Following removing the OVP's and DepEd's confidential funds, former President Rodrigo Duterte assailed the House of Representatives as the "most rotten" in government with its "hidden port barrel fund."

The elder Duterte issued strong words against the House despite his son being its member, Davao Representative Paolo Duterte.

Duterte posited that the realignment may have been politically motivated as his daughter and Romualdez are seen as frontrunners in the 2028 presidential derby. Both Sara and Romualdez had denied aspiring to become president in 2028.

The tirades of Duterte prompted the House to issue a resolution to assert its integrity, the non-signing of which by another former president, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, led to her being stripped of the post deputy speaker.

Previously, Arroyo held the post of senior deputy speaker, but she was relegated to the deputy speakership over alleged soured relations with the House leadership.

Romualdez himself asserted last week that the UniTeam remains intact.

 "The President wants us to work together, not just in Congress with the Executive but as a country. So, we will always strive for that," Romualdez said.

'Insidious'

"As they always say, there will always be differences, but we will always work towards resolving those differences for the service of the Filipino people.  That's our primordial concern. We will band together and unite as one for the service of the Filipino."

Moreover, Romualdez said he had not severed ties with the Dutertes and maintained his trust.

The VP, who sought P500 million and P150 million in confidential funds for the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, respectively, previously accused critics of her secret funds of having "insidious motivations."

Nonetheless, she later dropped the sought-after confidential budget, saying the issue has become "divisive" as it contradicts her oath to "keep the country peaceful and strong."