Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte on Tuesday took up the cudgels for her sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, firing back at a Makati Business Club (MBC) official over his “gossip-based conclusions” concerning the alleged misuse of her confidential funds. 

The lawmaker told MBC Executive Director Apa Ongpin to refrain from lecturing the VP about accountability, unless he had first-hand experience holding public office. 

“Before you play ‘investigative expert’, I suggest you learn how government actually works,” he said. “Until then, keep your lectures to your boardroom, not on national policy. Governance is a responsibility you clearly haven’t carried.” 

The scathing criticism came after Ongpin implied that the VP “misspent” her confidential funds, citing the alleged lack of proper documentation and its dubious recipients, including the infamous “Mary Grace Piattos.” 

Ongpin alleged that the funds were not utilized for national security—as they were supposedly intended —pointing to the purported absence of the intelligence gathering's findings. 

Rep. Duterte, however, was quick to jump to her sister’s defense, asserting that confidential funds are strictly for information-gathering and confidential operations, which require proper documentation, liquidation, and are subject to post-audit, making no room for mismanagement.

“Why do you think leftist groups hate the VP? Because of efforts of the Vice President as DepEd chief to end recruitments by the NPA from the grassroots level and strenghtening the education sector,” he stressed. 

The VP was accused of misappropriating P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P112.5 million), which she headed for nearly two years.

Her refusal to explain where the funds were spent led to her impeachment on 5 February. 

Aside from Piattos, lawmakers also flagged several “dubious” names listed as recipients of the confidential funds, such as “Xiaome Ocho,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” Mico Harina,” “Ralph Josh Bacon,” and “Sala Casim,” among others.

Previous findings by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that of the 1,992 supposed fund recipients, 1,322 had no birth records, 1,456 had no marriage records, and 1,593 had no death records, raising suspicions that the acknowledgement receipts were “fabricated.”

Nonetheless, VP Duterte denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the impeachment as a “well-funded” and “coordinated political attack” by administration lawmakers to derail her future presidential ambitions in 2028. 

The impeachment case, signed by 215 House lawmakers, remains pending at the Supreme Court after the lower chamber contested its ruling, declaring it unconstitutional and void ab initio.