On Tuesday, a House budget hearing for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) turned chaotic as Vice President Sara Duterte obstructed the deliberations, leading to heated exchanges.
The session began with Duterte alleging political persecution and discussing impeachment rumors, quickly shifting focus to the OVP’s past spending of P125 million in confidential funds over 11 days in 2022.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro highlighted discrepancies and COA findings, revealing that P73 million of the funds were disallowed due to a lack of documentation.
Duterte’s contentious behavior, including a request for the hearing to be led by a non-existent committee, contrasted sharply with her previous calm demeanor in budget hearings.
The hearing, which was adjourned after over five hours with a second session scheduled, saw multiple allies defending Duterte and disputes over the relevance of past budget issues to the 2025 budget proposal.
Source : PhilNews24 | August 28, 2024
