Vice President Sara Duterte attends a hearing for the Office of the Vice President's 2025 budget at the House of Representatives on August 27, 2024.  Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives 

MANILA (UPDATED) — Vice President Sara Duterte accused the House of Representatives of conducting "scripted" budget hearings, which she said was among the reasons she deferred answering questions during budget deliberations.

Several House members were prepared to rebut whatever answers the OVP would give during the budget hearing last week, the Vice President alleged in an interview taped on September 4 and released on Wednesday.

"Alam na nila kung anong gagawin nila bago pa kami pumunta sa plenary ng House… Mayroon na silang nakahandang PowerPoint presentation, mayroon na silang nakahandang audiovisual presentation, mayroon na silang nakahanda na script na binabasa," Duterte said.

"Kung makita mo, may nakahanda siya na mga sagot sa mga sinabi namin sa Commission on Audit… Makikita natin na, Let's stick to our plan. Atakihin natin ito siya," she added.

"Walang kinalaman sa kanyang Office of the Vice President 2025 budget proposal, kundi lahat ay may kinalaman sa confidential funds na matagal nang may kaso, tatlo pa nga ang kaso sa Supreme Court," she said.

READ: Sara Duterte says 'spoiled brat' tag part of political attack

Duterte said she was convinced that budget deliberations in the House were scripted since last year, alleging that the House leadership and the Makabayan bloc had already agreed to strip the Office of the Vice President of its confidential funds even before the hearing started.

"Kung makita ninyo doon sa budget hearing ng Office of the Vice President ay dinefend namin nang maayos kung paano gagamitin ang confidential funds," she said, referring to budget deliberations last year.

"Walang dalawang oras, lumabas ang statement ni Cong. Zaldy Co. Ano ang sabi niya? 'Unanimous decision ng party leaders...tatanggalin namin ang confidential funds,'" she said.

READ: VP Duterte says no misuse of OVP confidential funds

"Nagkwento sa akin ang isang congressman. Sabi niya, lumapit daw sa kanya si Cong. [Elizaldy] Co at sinabihan siya na, 'Tatanggalin namin ang confidential funds ni Inday Sara,'" she said, without naming her lawmaker-friend. 

Sara Duterte: House 'meddling' with DepEd budget among reasons for resignation

Last year, the House removed the OVP's confidential funds after a Commission on Audit (COA) report showed that Duterte spent the P125-million fund in just 11 days.

The OVP defended its use of confidential funds but right after the plenary debates, the House announced that the money in question would be removed, Duterte said.

"Para hindi halata na inaatake nila ako, ay tinanggalan din nila 'yung mga iba pang mga departments ng kanilang confidential funds," she said.

By the fourth quarter of 2023, Duterte said she had stopped using the confidential funds of the OVP and the Department of Education, which at that time she still headed.

"Sabi ko sa kanila, 'Kahit gaanong tamang gamit natin diyan, gagawan nila ng mali 'yan,'" she said.

"Bubutasin nila 'yan at atatakihin tayo gamit ang confidential funds."  

READ: Sara Duterte spars with House members as budget hearing turns personal

-- Lawmakers take offense --

House Appropriations chairperson Elizaldy Co and House majority leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe denied Duterte's allegations.

"Hindi po totoo 'yun. Siya po ang scripted. Siya po ang budol. Peke po. Dahil nakita mo naman may binabasa siya. Inaral na niya. Mayroon siyang kakampi na nag-abugado sa kanya. Shimenet, shimenet, diba?" Co said.

"Ibig sabihin, ayaw niya talaga sumagot sa confidential funds. Hindi niya kayang ipaliwanag kasi ninakaw niya ang pera," he said.

"The members of the committee on appropriations have their right to scrutinize the budget and I don’t see any script in that," said Dalipe, for his part. "For example, 'yung mga tanong nila tungkol sa Commission on Audit na notice of disallowance, karapatan 'yun ng any member of the committee on appropriations to ask."

"Hindi lang naman 'yun sa Office of the Vice President," he also pointed out. "Maski mga ibang department o agency, nagtatanong talaga ang mga members. So walang script diyan."

House Deputy Majority Leader and TINGOG Party List Representative Jude Acidre said he "take[s] offense" at Duterte's allegations.

"Kung marami naman pala siyang sasabihin bakit hindi niya sinabi nung nandito siya sa Kongreso, when we could have made all people mentioned accountable… It’s obviously an attempt to divert the issues," he said.

The House Appropriations panel is expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss if they should proceed with another budget hearing for the OVP.

Dalipe could not say if the OVP's proposed budget will be slashed, as he awaits the committee report that will be submitted by the committee on appropriations.

"Sabay-sabay 'yan isu-submit din ng din ng committee on appropriations. Lahat ng departamento, lahat ng ahensya, lahat ng mga budget nila sabay yan Isusubmit sa isang committee report ng committee on appropriations. Doon natin makikita pag sinumite na sa akin sa committee on rules," he explained.

On Tuesday, Duterte sent a letter to the House leadership, saying she would "defer entirely to the discretion and judgment of the Committee regarding our budget proposal for the upcoming year." -- with reports from Willard Cheng and Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News

READ: House panel defers approval of OVP's 2025 budget anew

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