Sara: Plunder raps another ‘fishing expedition’
Yet “another fishing expedition” was how Vice President Sara Duterte thought of the plunder and other criminal charges that were lodged against her over the alleged misuse of the P612.5 million confidential funds granted to her, for which she was impeached last February.
In a statement on Saturday, Duterte said the complaint was meant to shift public attention from the ongoing probes into the flood control projects.
“Another fishing expedition is now being launched, as they scramble to weaponize any accusation they can manufacture just to create a semblance of procedural legitimacy for an investigation,” the vice president said in a statement.
“This is no longer about seeking truth—this is about concealing the robbery to our nation’s coffers that until now, no one was held accountable,” she also said.
‘All the corrupt’
The vice president warned the public against being swayed with what she described as “defamation” against her.
Instead, she called on the public to be “strong in facing the downfall of our economy and the nonstop rise in prices of commodities … Let us continue to pray for peace.”
But one of the complainants, economist and former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno, said their group continued to investigate kickback schemes in flood control projects.
“Who said we are stopping our investigation and protests against the corruption in flood control projects? That will push through,” Magno told the Inquirer. “We just can’t forget VP Sara, because all the corrupt should be held accountable!”
House, Ombudsman
The House committee on justice received three separate complaints from civil society leaders and activists, accusing the vice president of alleged misuse of the secret funds, among other allegations.
Magno was among a group of complainants who went to the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday, accusing Duterte and 14 former and incumbent officials of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education of plunder, graft, bribery, malversation, culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.
Another one of the complainants, 2025 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, had a short reply to Duterte’s statement: “Typical DDS reply,” referring to the “Davao Death Squads” that former President Rodrigo Duterte employed to execute suspected drug users.
Earlier, Palace spokesperson Claire Castro denied that the complainants in the new cases against the vice president were instigated by Malacañang.
“The complainants are not part of the President’s political allies, instead they are, in fact, his critics. So, how could he casually tell them to file plunder and graft charges against VP Sara,” Castro said in a text message to reporters on Friday night.
‘Check the complainants’
Castro’s statement came after lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, deputy spokesperson of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, accused the Marcos administration of having a hand in the complaints.
Topacio also claimed that the filing of criminal charges against Duterte is part of a “political stunt,” saying the “panic-stricken” government would do everything to prevent the vice president from running for president.
Castro slammed what she described as “obstructionists” for making such allegations against Marcos.
She stressed that the complaints against Duterte are based solely on her alleged misuse of public funds.
“It is clear that these obstructionists operate against President Marcos Jr. They will always fabricate stories to divert attention away from the corruption allegations against VP Sara,” Castro said.
“Are they blind, or are they simply diehard Duterte supporters? They should have checked who the complainants are in this instance.”
