Vice President Sara Duterte. | File photo
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday maintained that she was “not going anywhere” amid calls for her to resign from her post due to her refusal to attend the House deliberations on her office’s proposed budget.
Duterte made the pronouncement after Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon said the vice president might as well resign after she skipped the plenary debates on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed budget for 2025.
In responding to Bongalon’s sentiments, Duterte clarified that she is only doing so for the sake of the 32 million Filipinos who voted for her.
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“Hindi naman ako sasagot sa ‘Young Guns’ (the bloc Bongalon is a part of) dahil kailangan ko sumagot sa 32 million na bumoto sa akin. Hindi sa isa o dalawang tao. Kaya hindi ako aalis dito dahil nilagay ako ng mga tao dito believing that I will work for the country, and that is what we did, we worked,” Duterte said in a press conference.
(I will not answer to the ‘Young Guns’ because I have to respond to the 32 million who voted for me. Not with one or two people. So, I will not leave this post because people put me here believing that I will work for the country, and that is what we did; we worked.)
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Impeachment
According to Duterte, calling for her resignation is another tactic lawmakers adopted after not finding enough grounds for her impeachment.
“Gusto niyo mag-impeachment ‘di ba… sa tingin ko sa mga nangyayari, wala silang kaso for impeachment kaya sila nandiyan kaya sila hanap hanap ng kung ano gagamitin nila,” said Duterte.
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(You want an impeachment, don’t you…I think with what’s going on, they don’t have a case for impeachment, that’s why they’re there, so they’re looking for something to use.)
All this developed after Duterte skipped the House plenary debates on the OVP’s proposed budget on Monday.
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The House deferred the debates to Wednesday, which Duterte and her OVP representatives once again skipped.
Inquiries
When asked if Duterte would ever attend future House hearings, the Vice President responded that both she and the entire OVP are skipping the inquiries to protect their families.
“We take it one hearing at a time, so when we receive an invitation, pinapadala siya sa legal, dini-discuss namin dito sa opisina with the personnel, and then tinatanong na namin ‘yung personnel in the case of this invitation nakapangalan na sila doon and hindi na pwede ‘yung authorized representatives,” said Duterte.
(We take it one hearing at a time, so when we receive an invitation, we send it to the legal office, we discuss it here in the office with the personnel, and then we ask the personnel. In the case of this invitation, they are already named, and the authorized representatives are no longer allowed.)
“…Right now walang gustong pumunta sa kanila kasi ang concern nila ang pamilya nila,” she added.
(Right now no one wants to go to them because their concern is their family.)
Duterte explained that her representatives are willing to answer the queries of the House of lawmakers but are refusing to do so to protect their families.
“Yun ang concern ng lahat sa OVP (That is the concern of everyone in the OVP),” she said.
Duterte last attended House deliberations on her office’s proposed budget on August 27, where she refused to directly answer lawmakers’ queries and mostly said that the OVP forgoes the opportunity to defend its budget as it leaves the decision to the House.