A ranking leader of the House of Representatives on Monday said threats and intimidation will not make members of the chamber reconsider their decision to redistribute some P1.23 billion in confidential funds in the 2024 national budget.
House Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Franz Pumaren issued this statement after former President Rodrigo Duterte threatened ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, in the wake of a House decision to strip away P650 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) originally allocated to offices headed by his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, and moving them to agencies that have actual national security functions.
“As the good former president should know, we, as lawmakers duly elected by our respective constituents to represent their interests, do not respond well to threats and intimidation. If his allegations have bases, then he should go to the proper channels and file charges,” Pumaren said.
“But to insinuate bodily harm or even the murder of a member of the House of Representatives, this has gone too far. We urge the former president to be cautious and reasonable in his criticisms. There are more peaceful and effective ways to send his message through,” Pumaren added.
In an interview on the network owned by his religious adviser, Apollo Quiboloy, who is wanted in the United States for rape and human trafficking, Duterte said he told his daughter “to be frank” with the communists in Congress, including Castro.
“Be frank with France (Castro) and everyone — I mean, they are my friends…I love them, and at no other time in the history of the Philippines that the Communist Party of the Philippines were invited to Malacañang […] But because they are my friends, I cannot tell them squarely that we are enemies, and I want to kill them; I want to kill you softly because we are friends,” he said.
In defending the confidential funds sought by his daughter, ex-president Duterte also insinuated that the House has hidden “pork barrel,” which is illegal. He also said the Commission on Audit should take a look into the use of funds of the House.
A COA report released only last October 2, however, showed the House of Representatives has no disallowances, no notice of suspension and no notice of charge.
“This means we passed the COA review… All line items in our budget are subject to regular accounting and auditing rules and regulation,” House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said.
The former president was also quoted as saying the confidential funds the vice president asked for would be used to reestablish ROTC and to fight off communist recruiters in the educational system.
Pumaren said he is saddened by this turn of events, saying the former chief executive’s statements only divide the people and create animosity against the House — an institution that was steadfast in its support of ex-President Duterte’s legislative agenda during his term.
“The decision to realign the vice president’s confidential funds is nothing personal, as several other agencies also faced the same redistribution. If the former president thinks this is wrong, our doors are always open in the House of Representatives for dialogue,” he continued.
The House recently decided to divert some P1.23 billion in confidential funds from several government agencies to efforts to boost security in the WPS. Among the agencies that were stripped of confidential funds are the Office of the Vice President (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P150 million).
The confidential funds were realigned, among others, to these government agencies: National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (P300 million); National Security Council (P100 million); Philippine Coast Guard (P200 million); Department of Transportation (P351 million); DepEd’s Government Assistance to Students and Teachers (P150 million); DICT’s Cybercrime Prevention, Investigation and Coordination Program (P25 million); Department of Foreign Affairs operations (P30 million); Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ MOOE (P30 million); and Office of the Ombudsman’s MOOE (P50.4 million).
Castro on Monday thanked Speaker Martin Romualdez and other House party leaders for standing with her against the death threat issued by the former president.
“I am grateful for the support and solidarity shown by House Speaker Romualdez and other party leaders during this challenging time. Their unwavering commitment to the safety and security of all lawmakers is commendable,” Castro said.
Castro said she is grateful for the House leadership as she said “this incident is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those who dare to speak up and fight for the rights and welfare of the Filipino people.”
“It is crucial that we continue to uphold freedom of expression and protect the voices of dissent in our democracy,” Castro added.
Meanwhile, an ally of the former president said he, too, is opposed to allocating CIFs to the office of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lawyer Melvin Matibag, whom Duterte appointed as Cabinet secretary in the last few months of his term, expressed his opposition in an opinion piece published in a newspaper.
“I am against the Office of the Vice President being allocated the CIFs because the Vice President has no duty under the Constitution that requires them to secure our common defense. I have nothing against Vice President Sara Duterte. I am just against civilian agencies being accorded with secret funds,” he said.
“Necessarily, I am against the DepEd, the DTI, DoTr, and other civilian departments being allocated with CIFs. It should strictly be allocated only to civilian agencies with defense duties, national security, law enforcement, and operations responsibilities,” he said.
Vice President Duterte, who is also education secretary, had requested P500 million in CIFs for her office as the country’s No. 2 elected official and P150 million as DepEd chief.
Her father has defended her request.
But the committee on appropriations of the House of Representatives has decided to recommend the realignment of CIFs allocated to civilian agencies to offices dealing with national security and peace and order issues.
Davao de Oro Rep. Maricar Zamora also expressed her full support for the House and Romualdez in light of recent attacks by the former president.
Zamora is a member of the political party Lakas–CMD, as well as the local party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), which is the party of Vice President Duterte.
She had defended the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Office of the Vice President during House deliberations on the 2024 national budget.
“My appeal is that instead of political hate, let us be united and move forward to achieve a ‘New Philippines’,” she wrote in Filipino.
The Partylist Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI) also rallied behind Romualdez.
“We, the Partylist Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI), would like to acknowledge and express our gratitude towards the exemplary leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez in the House of Representatives,” the group headed by Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co said.
“Foremost is our sincere appreciation for his defense of the institution, ensuring the rightful representation of 300 representatives as mandated by the Constitution.
“Under Speaker Romualdez’s guidance and inspiration, the House has achieved an unprecedented highest approval rating in its history, transforming it into one of the nation’s most respectable institutions,” Co said.
The chair of the House appropriations committee said among the extraordinary actions was the transfer of confidential funds from several civilian agencies to bolster the protection of the West Philippine Sea.
“This decision showcases his prudent and thoughtful approach, echoing our commitment as representatives to listen and respond to the voices of our countrymen,” he said.