FAKE news ang ipinakakalat ni Vice President Sara Duterte na ang pondo ng gobyerno ay kontrolado nina Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez at House committee on appropriations chairman Zaldy Co.

Naniniwala ang mga kongresista na nagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon si Duterte upang matakpan ang hindi nito maipaliwanag na paggastos sa P125 milyong confidential funds na naubos nito sa loob lamang ng 11 araw. Kinuwestyon ng Commission on Audit (COA) ang paggamit ni Duterte sa pondong ito.

Sa isang press conference, sinabi ni House Deputy Majority Leader at Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre na ang tunay na isyu ay ang pagtanggi ni Duterte na sagutin ang mga tanong kaugnay ng paggastos nito ng pera ng taumbayan.

“Noong bata pa ako, minsan nahuli akong kumakain ng wala sa oras, at sinisi ko, eh niluto ng maaga at nilagay sa mesa. Hindi ko mapigilan ‘yung sarili ko,” sabi ni Acidre.

“It is very easy to point fingers, but the issue here is not whether [the budget] is being controlled by so many people. The budget is being prepared by the executive, deliberated by the legislative, it’s a matter of public record, nandiyan siya lahat,” punto pa nito.

Dagdag pa ni Acidre, “Now, [budget] utilization. Sinasabi niyang kontrolado ng legislative ‘yung utilization, eh bakit ilang porsiyento ba ang sa school building lang na-implement? Three percent lang. Ang hina naman nung mga nagkokontrol noon.”

“Ang issue talaga dito ay accountability. Kung masagot niya sana ‘yun, and obviously with her statements and her interview na na-release part 3, hindi ko nga alam bakit hindi na lang sinabay-sabay eh. Baka bukas may part 4 at sa susunod part 5,” saad pa nito.

Inilabas ng kampo ni Duterte ang video noong Setyembre 10, ang araw kung kailan muling dininig ng House committee on appropriations ang P2.037 bilyong budget ng Office of the Vice President (OVP) para sa 2025. Hindi sumipot si Duterte sa naturang pagdinig.

“Talagang dine-deflect po niya, klaro po ‘yun. Hindi naman ‘yun ‘yung pinag-uusapan ngayon. She could have made better use of the time by explaining that in Congress, in front of us congressmen and not before a television camera,” sabi ni Acidre.

Ibinasura rin ni 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez ang walang basehang alegasyon ni Duterte at sinabi na ang Executive department ang gumagawa ng panukalang budget at nagtatanong ang mga mambabatas upang matiyak na tama ang gagawing paggastos sa limitadong pondo.

“That’s precisely why it’s called the Executive—they implement. We, in Congress, lay out the budget. Once it’s submitted to the Executive, they implement it,” sabi ni Gutierrez.

“To say two people from another branch control the budget’s execution is far-fetched. It’s almost offensive because we take pride in our work here in the House,” giit ni Gutierrez.

Sinabi ni Gutierrez na sa ginawa nitong pag-aaral ay natuklasan nito na mayroong intelligence funds ang budget ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

“One of my proudest moments was uncovering intelligence funds in the MMDA budget. I worked hours studying it, and I requested those details. So, for someone to say only two people control the budget is not only wrong—it undermines the hard work of all 300 congressmen,” dagdag pa nito.

Direkta naman ang naging sagot ni Assistant Majority Leader at La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V.

“Fake news lang po ‘yung sinasabi niya. Hindi totoo ‘yun,” giit ni Ortega.