Pimentel’s advice to VP: Focus on your mandate

Vice President Sara Duterte should focus her attention on her mandate as the country’s second-highest government official, instead of implementing programs that are no longer within the scope of her duty, according to Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

At the same time, the Senate minority leader challenged Congress to go beyond tough talk and use its power to align the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) budget with its constitutional mandate.

“Congress shouldn’t just act tough during hearings and then approve the budget as is anyway. If you’re going to show strength, follow through by making sure the budget aligns with the Vice President’s constitutional role,” Pimentel said in a radio interview on Sunday.

Duterte is requesting P2.037 billion for her office’s budget for 2025.

Pimentel noted that Duterte herself has repeatedly expressed willingness to leave her office’s budget in the hands of Congress.

“She said, ‘I will leave it to Congress to decide what to do with my budget.’ And she’s repeated that several times, which means she’s serious about it. She also said the same thing in the Senate. She didn’t just say it in this Congress; she said it last year as well, in a more respectful way. So, Congress should show off. Not pretending to be tough but still keeping the budget as is,” he pointed out.

‘Be ready’ to succeed

Pimentel said Congress should understand what the role of the Vice President really is, and provide her the amount that would allow her to fulfill that role.

Pimentel stressed that it is not the Vice President’s role to distribute school bags and books or run bus routes, which is just “a waste of her time.”

“The role of the Vice President is to be ready to assume the presidency at any moment, as mandated by the Constitution,” he pointed out.

He added that the Vice President’s budget should be spent on important preparations, including attending briefings that would ensure readiness if something happens to the sitting President.

“She should attend briefings to prepare her mentally, emotionally, physically… read books, ask for briefings from the military, foreign affairs… attend international conferences. That’s all we need to allocate a budget on,” the Senate leader said.

He also said the budget allocation for projects that are not under the Vice President’s mandate, such as providing financial assistance, handing out school bags and offering free bus rides, should be removed.

Pimentel noted that this also includes the P10-million budget for the printing of the children’s book “Isang Kaibigan,” which Duterte authored herself.

“That’s included. You have no business giving out school bags, but if she has a private donor, we can’t prevent that…just give the book to the Department of Education (DepEd),” he said.

“The double issue here is the book has her name, it’s like self-dealing… you’re presenting yourself. You’re giving the book you authored a market and the market is your agency,” he added.

Pimentel also suggested that rather than having a separate budget for social assistance, the OVP should rely on existing agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide aid when necessary.

This was not the first time that Pimentel called out the Vice President’s actions and pronouncements, even as he also appeared to offer constructive criticism.

In July, Pimentel joined the chorus of voices expressing disapproval of Duterte’s remarks about appointing herself as the “designated survivor.”

“I wish she didn’t make it in the context of the Sona (State of the Nation Address). I wish she didn’t joke about it because it wasn’t a good joke,” he said.

Track record

Meanwhile House Minority Leader France Castro on Sunday vowed to block the OVP’s social service budget request for next year, citing the irregular use in 2022 of her office’s confidential funds.

The ACT Teachers party-list representative proposed that the social aid funds sought by the OVP in the 2025 national budget be given instead to the DSWD to ensure that these are used properly and benefit Filipinos who need them the most.

The P73.28 million was part of the P125 million in confidential funds spent, supposedly in just 11 days from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022, by the OVP.

“Given the previous misuse of confidential funds, we must ensure that public funds are allocated and utilized properly,” Castro said. “We cannot allow the allocation of a separate budget for a department that has a dubious track record.”

She cited the Commission on Audit (COA) order for Duterte to return some P73.28 million in confidential funds.

“The COA’s findings are clear. If the OVP cannot properly manage its P73 million confidential funds, how can we entrust them an even higher budget? This is about protecting [taxpayer] money from potential misuse,” Castro said.

A big chunk of the proposed P2.037-billion budget for the OVP is mostly for social service programs which, Castro pointed out, could be delivered more efficiently and effectively by the DSWD.

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“The DSWD has the mandate and expertise to handle social services. By funneling the budget to the DSWD, we can ensure that the funds are used properly and reach those who need them most,” she said.

The lawmaker further noted that Duterte failed to sufficiently explain how her office spent taxpayer money during last week’s budget briefing.

“We asked, and the Vice President could not give clear answers. She consumed [all] the confidential funds but she doesn’t want to explain how it was used,” she said.

“How can we, as lawmakers, justify giving her more funds when she cannot even account for the money she has already spent? Again, this is not about ‘politicizing.’ This is about protecting the hard-earned money of every Filipino,” the lawmaker said.

‘Not exempt from oversight’

Another lawmaker on Sunday claimed that Duterte tried but failed to stop the COA from submitting to Congress a report on her office’s spending of the P73.28 million.

The COA had complied with the House committee on appropriations’ subpoena for 2022 and 2023 audit reports and other issuance pertaining to the OVP’s and DepEd’s confidential funds.

A COA-issued Notice of Disallowance ordered the OVP to return the P73.28 million.

According to Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez wrote the COA on Aug. 21, six days before the scheduled OVP budget hearing, advising the COA against complying with the House panel’s subpoena duces tecum for the pertinent documents.

Luistro said the OVP claimed that releasing the 2022 and 2023 audit reports and other documents pertaining to its and DepEd’s confidential funds would violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers and the OVP’s right to due process and maintained, “The subject subpoena may not be validly enforced due to the nature of confidential funds.”

But, according to the lawmaker, the OVP’s attempt to prevent the COA from releasing its reports could be considered “suppression of public information” and stressed that the 1987 Constitution grants Congress the power to oversee and scrutinize budget allocations and spending of all government agencies, including the OVP, which was basic in the system of checks and balances in a democratic government.

“Confidential funds are intended for specific, sensitive purposes that require a higher degree of discretion. However, this does not mean they are exempt from oversight. The public has a right to know if these funds are being used properly, and it is the role of Congress to ensure this through audits and other investigative measures,” Luistro said.