Palace calls out Sara Duterte for 'plain arrogance' on confi funds, other issues

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Malacañang called out Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday over her “plain arrogance” regarding the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds, citing her apparent lack of awareness of the matter.

On Wednesday, the Commission on Audit (COA) affirmed with finality its notice of disallowance on the disbursement of P73 million in confidential funds by the OVP from Dec. 22 to 31, 2022.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro raised questions about how Duterte would address the COA decision.

“Ano ulit ang magiging depensa dito? Ayon [kay] Spokes, magtatanga-tangahan. Pero mind you, hindi po galing sa atin iyong word na iyon. Actually, ayaw nating gamitin kaya lang siya iyong nag-bring up, so, gagamitin na lang natin at ito ay mula sa kaniyang sariling bibig,” Castro said in a press briefing.

(What will be the defense this time? According to her spokesperson, play dumb. Mind you, that word did not come from us. We actually didn't want to use it, but since she brought it up herself, we will simply use it straight from her own mouth.)

The OVP previously stated that it was prepared to respond to the COA’s reaffirmation of its disallowance, as it had anticipated the possibility of this decision.

Duterte’s office said that it would respond to the COA through the appropriate legal and constitutional channels.

According to Malacañang, COA's decision to disallow the OVP's confidential funds suggests that there were irregularities in how the money was liquidated and used.

“Kung nakita po ng COA na kailangan niyang ibalik ang pondo na ito... lumalabas na hindi tama ang pag-liquidate at maaaring lumabas na nagamit sa iba ang pondo,” Castro said.

(If the COA determined that she needs to return these funds, it simply means that the liquidation was improper and it may show that the funds were misused.)

She urged Duterte to address the issue and abandon her “plain arrogance” regarding this and other matters, especially given her anticipated presidential bid in 2028.

“Iyan ang dapat na ipaliwanag ng Bise Presidente [at] hindi sa pamamagitan ng—again, gamitin ko iyong sinabi ng Spokes—huwag sa pamamagitan na maging magtanga-tangahan o plain ignorance,” Castro said.

(That is what the Vice President needs to explain and not through, again to use her spokesperson's words, playing dumb or displaying plain ignorance.)

“Iyan na rin po ang napansin ng prosecution, laging nagpapahiwatig na walang alam ang Bise Presidente sa mga isyung katulad nito, na kung ikaw ay nagnanais na maging pangulo ay hindi puwede sa mga isyung ito na wala palaging alam,” she added.

(That is precisely what the prosecution has noticed: the Vice President constantly implies she knows nothing about issues like this. But if you aspire to be president, you cannot consistently plead ignorance on key issues.)

Castro likewise suggested that the Vice President should perhaps be asked whether she is now familiar with the Pax Silica hub and the Defense Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).

In a video shared by the OVP with media members in July, Duterte appeared caught off guard when asked to comment on the Pax Silica hub, responding that she could not comment on it.

At that time, the Palace refused to comment on the video of Duterte, which went viral online. —LDF, GMA News