MANILA — The House of Representatives will zero in on the confidential fund use of Vice President Sara Duterte’s office despite her alleged attempt to deflect public attention away from the probe with her outburst against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a lawmaker said Monday. 

Over the weekend, Duterte accused various government officials of corruption and claimed Speaker Martin Romualdez wanted her dead. She said she had arranged for Marcos, Romualdez, and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to be killed if that happened.

“These are attempts to deflect from what really the issue is,” Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said of Duterte’s remarks. 

“I think the best thing for Congress, and I think that's the direction we’re taking, is to continue working on the issue at hand, continue investigating, lalo na ngayon kasi nakikita talaga na mas malapit na yung koneksyon,” he told TeleRadyo Serbisyo. 

“Na-zero in na natin kung sinong-sinong tao ang puwedeng makapagsabi ng katotohanan… Ngayon pa ba tayo titigil? I think the best way forward is to ensure that makita natin with full transparency what really happened to these confidential funds,” he added. 

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The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is set to resume hearings into alleged irregularities in the use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education on Monday.

The panel last week cited in contempt OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez for writing to the Commission on Audit to ask it not to comply with a House subpoena for audit documents of Duterte’s confidential funds in 2022 and 2023.

The panel ordered Lopez’s transfer to the Correctional Institute for Women after Duterte's decision to camp out in her brother Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte's office to be near her top aide.

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The Vice President’s post-midnight tirade against Marcos has caught the attention of several security agencies, with National Security Adviser Sec. Eduardo Año saying they consider all threats to the President as "serious."

READ: National Security Council ‘closely coordinating’ with agencies on threat vs Marcos Jr.

“Kailangan alamin whether these actions of the Vice President would warrant possible grounds for impeachment,” Acidre said. 

READ: VP Sara Duterte's alleged plot against Marcos a 'serious crime' — House leaders

“Not simply because of what she’d been doing and saying in the last couple of days, but I think even on the basis of the unexplained use of confidential funds, that is, for me, a clear betrayal of public trust,” he added.  

Duterte has denied allegations of corruption and fund misuse, saying that the House investigation was part of political persecution.