“The Filipino people deserve clarity — not convenient storytelling,” said Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante shortly after Vice President Sara Duterte declared her intent to run for the presidency in 2028.

This came as Abante on Thursday rejected claims that the vice president distanced herself from the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. due to alleged corruption or government inefficiency.

“This was not a principled resignation,” Abante said. “If the Vice President truly believed the administration was corrupt or incapable of addressing the people’s problems, she had every opportunity to say so while she was inside the Cabinet. She did not.”

The solon emphasized that the vice president was not an outsider.

He said the vice president, for nearly two years, was a Cabinet member as Secretary of Education, was part of the UniTeam mandate, and participated in policy discussions and budget processes.

“If there were systemic corruption or governance failures of the magnitude now being suggested, why was there no sustained public dissent? No reform blueprint? No formal policy objections?” Abante said.

Abante said the political rupture coincided with congressional scrutiny over confidential and intelligence funds.

“The timeline is clear. The tension escalated when Congress exercised its constitutional power of the purse and asked questions about public funds. That is not political persecution — that is oversight,” Abante said.

“When accountability mechanisms were activated, that is when the distancing began,” he added.

Abante stressed that resignations grounded in principle typically leave documentary evidence.

“You will see memoranda of dissent, detailed reform proposals, policy critiques, or whistleblower actions. None of those preceded the break,” Abante said.

“What we saw instead was a political realignment following fiscal pushback,” he added.

Abante also noted that the breakdown occurred amid early positioning for the 2028 national elections.

“In Philippine politics, alliances shift when strategic calculations shift. Let us not confuse succession maneuvering with moral crusades,” Abante said.

“We respect the Office of the Vice President,” the House leader concluded. “But we will not allow the narrative to be reversed. The facts show this was not about corruption or inefficiency. It was about political repositioning.”