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/FileMANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte can "step down" if she is no longer interested in performing her duties and functions, according to a Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, citing her repeated absence in the budget deliberations of the House of Representatives.

House Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd District Representative David Suarez said this sentiment is shared by "a lot of members" of the lower chamber.

Last September 10, Duterte snubbed the resumption of the House Committee on Appropriations' deliberations on the OVP's budget. She also did not show up in the September 23 House plenary debates, when the OVP was scheduled to be tackled.

READ: Duterte expected to skip House plenary deliberations for OVP's 2025 budget

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"Consistent naman po 'yung Vice President natin, in fairness to her. Consistent in the sense na hindi siya dumalo noong Committee on Appropriations budget hearing, pati dito sa plenary, hindi dumalo. It shows that she's not interested with her duties and functions as the Vice President of the Philippines. Kung ganyan ang lumalabas, probably we can ask her to step down as the Vice President," AKO BICOL Party List Representative Raul Angelo Bongalon said.

"Mas pinili niya pang pumunta sa isang beach resort kesa dumalo dito sa pagdinig sa kanyang budget. So I guess it's the Filipino people. It's up to them to judge the Vice President," he added.

The Office of the Vice President said stories claiming Duterte was supposedly on a beach while the OVP's proposed 2025 budget was scheduled for plenary deliberations at the House of Representatives on Monday are an attempt to "besmirch the reputation of the Vice President." The OVP said Duterte made stops in Camarines Norte and Albay to talk the people there.

In their statement, the OVP noted that Duterte sent a letter to its budget sponsor at the lower house last September 11, to reiterate that the OVP leaves the deliberation of its budget proposal in the plenary "entirely to the pleasure of the House of Representatives".

But according to 1-RIDER Party List Representative Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, the letter did not state that Duterte will not attend or that she will send an authorized representative. The representative sent by the OVP on Monday had no written authorization, prompting the lower chamber to reschedule the plenary debates on its budget to Tuesday.

READ: Sara Duterte exits House panel probe early, avoids clash with lawmakers

BETRAYAL OF PUBLIC TRUST?

"Technically, it is in a way, betrayal of public trust, but whether it would amount to impeachment, masyadong malayo naman po 'yun," Gutierrez explained.

"Sa majority, wala kaming napag-uusapan tungkol sa impeachment, hindi natin iniisip 'yan," House Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonghun added.

NO REENACTED BUDGET

Congressmen said they will wait until Wednesday for the Vice President or an authorized representative of her office. If either of the two do not show up, Suarez said the House will just "cross the bridge when it gets there." 

But they said a reenacted national budget for next year is unlikely.

"I don't think that is within any real means because so far naman all the other departments and agencies have fully complied with the requirements of the law," Suarez said.

"It's just a procedural issue, the budget process of Congress is slowing down to accommodate certain personalities to appear, to be heard, to be fair, to be lenient. And I think the leniency afforded on this procedural issue will have its limit and we will not sacrifice the budget for the sake of this procedural lapse. The substantive must reign and still we will pass this budget. What we're trying to say here is that the budget would wait for no man.  But in this case, it is a woman," Gutierrez added.

"Kung ang tingin ng ating vice president eh kaya niyang isabotahe 'yong pagpasa ng budget ng ating pamahalaan for 2025, hindi po papayagan ng Kongreso 'yon," Khonghun noted.

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Some lawmakers also expressed relief that Duterte previously resigned from her post as Education Secretary.

"Buti na lang at si Secretary Angara na 'yong Secretary ng Department of Education," Khonghun said.

"Siyempre kung ito 'yong ugali niya bilang OVP tapos assuming na hindi siya nag-resign, eh 'di ano'ng nangyari sa budget ng DepEd?  Isang milyon na teachers yata ang umaasa sa DepEd budget, at saka hindi lang 'yong mga teachers, 'yong mga bata, 'yong mga paaralan, 'yong mga magulang na umaasa sa maayos na edukasyon," Suarez added.

The House of Representatives targets to pass on final reading the proposed 2025 national budget on Wednesday. It terminated on Tuesday the plenary debates on the proposed budget of the Office of the President and the Department of Education.

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