VP Sara graces Quadcomm inquiry

Vice President Sara Z. Duterte lamented what she described as “political persecution” by the members of the House of Representatives.

In a media interview on Wednesday, Duterte said she does not expect that his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, will get a fair hearing in the House Quad Committee’s ongoing inquiry on the alleged human rights violations and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the previous administration’s war on drugs campaign.

“I do not expect fairness. Because this is a political persecution. I’ve seen it many times,” she said, citing her personal experiences during the House deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s proposed 2025 budget.

“We have noticed before, during the budget hearings, their questions are not even related to our proposed projects — they insisted on their storylines attacking the confidential funds,” she recalled.

Duterte lamented that the House lawmakers’ attacks have affected many innocent people.

“We’ve seen that when they slashed the OVP budget and not only that, but also many people were affected and there were many people around us who were harassed — who were poor, and so on,” she said.

“But then again, for me, I’m a politician. It’s okay with me. It’s part of my job. What I don’t like about this, is that ordinary employees, particularly the Office of the Vice President and our friends are being affected,” she added.

‘He’ll be okay’

Meanwhile, Duterte believes that her father is capable of defending himself against political attacks.

“Do I worry about the former president? I don’t think he’ll go there if he thinks he can’t do it, or if he’s weak health-wise. So he’ll be okay,” she said.

She was further asked why she thinks her father won’t get a fair hearing from the Lower Chamber.

“It’s just like our experience in the House of Representatives. They use the rules according to their pleasure — the rules of the House of Representatives — you’ll see that even if it’s unconstitutional, the rules are still being used. Even without the rules, they’re still making rules as they go along, as they do their hearings,” Duterte replied.