MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that House Speaker Martin Romualdez and House committee appropriations chairman Zaldy Co meddled in the 2023 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) when she was still the education secretary.
In a recorded interview released on Tuesday, September 10 — ahead of the proposed 2025 OVP budget hearing in the House of Representatives that she and the entire OVP snubbed — Duterte alleged that only two House leaders control the national budget. She also claimed that some House members had asked her for part of the P5-billion budget for classroom construction in 2023.
“Ang budget ng Pilipinas ay hawak lang ng dalawang tao. Hawak lang siya ni Cong. Zaldy Co at ni Cong. Martin Romualdez. ‘Yan ang katotohanan,” Duterte said. (The Philippine budget is controlled by just two people. It is held by Cong. Zaldy Co and Cong. Martin Romualdez. That is the truth.)
The Vice President said she was surprised when congressmen asked her for a portion of the budget. It’s unclear what they wanted or how the funds would be used, but Duterte suggested they might have pocketed the money.
“Sa Department of Education noong taong 2023, mayroong P5 billion na in-approve para sa classroom construction. Nagulat ako kasi mayroong mga lumapit na miyembro ng House na humihingi. Hinihingi nila ‘yung P5 billion — parte ng 5 billion na budget,” she said.
(In the Department of Education for 2023, P5 billion was approved for classroom construction. I was surprised because some House members approached me asking for part of that P5-billion budget.)
“‘Ano ba ang, magkano ba ang amin diyan? Magkano ba ang amin diyan?’ So, sinabi ko, ‘Hindi pwede ito. Kasi ang mangyayari nito hindi magagawa ng Department of Education ang trabaho namin na mag-construct ng classroom ayon sa classroom backlog at sa prioritization, base sa backlog at sa classroom construction.’ So, sinabihan ko ‘yung isang congressman, ‘Sabihan ninyo si Martin Romualdez na hindi pwedeng chop-chopin ang classroom construction na P5 billion,'” Duterte recounted her supposed conversation with unnamed House lawmakers.
(They asked, ‘How much of that do we get? How much of that do we get?’ I told them, ‘This isn’t possible. If we do this, the Department of Education won’t be able to address the classroom backlog and prioritize construction properly.’ I told one congressman, ‘Tell Martin Romualdez that the P5 billion for classroom construction can’t be divided up.’)
Why she quit DepEd
The Vice President said she did not approve the supposed request from the unidentified House members.
“Kaya kung makikita ninyo sa budget proposal na approved ng Office of the President P5 billion ‘yun. Pero noong lumabas ‘yung GAA o ‘yung budget approved noong 2023, naging P15 billion siya dahil hindi nga ako pumayag na kunin ‘yung P5 billion, dinagdagan nila ng P10 billion ‘yung classroom construction ng Department of Education. ‘Yung 10 billion na ‘yun hindi kontrolado ng Department of Education. Controlled ‘yun ni Cong. Zaldy Co at Cong. Martin Romualdez,” Duterte said.
(So, if you look at the budget proposal approved by the Office of the President, it was P5 billion. But when the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was released, it became P15 billion because I didn’t agree to give up the P5 billion. They added P10 billion to the Department of Education’s classroom construction budget. That P10 billion is not controlled by the Department of Education; it is controlled by Cong. Zaldy Co and Cong. Martin Romualdez.)
In his speech during the House hearing on the OVP budget on Tuesday, Co described Duterte’s allegations as a “diversionary tactic” as he took a swipe at the Vice President’s utilization of her past budgets.
“Malinaw na diversionary tactic ang video message ni VP Sara. Tulad ng tatay niya, gusto niyang ilihis ang usapin sa tunay na isyung kinakaharap niya. Ayaw niya kasing magpaliwanag. P125 million confidential funds spent in 11 days at nagsabi mismo ang COA na mali ang paggastos nito,” Co said.
(The video message of VP Sara is clearly a diversionary tactic. Like her father, she wants to deflect attention from the real issues she is facing. She doesn’t want to explain. P125 million in confidential funds was spent in just 11 days, and the COA itself said that the expenditure was irregular.)
‘Kung bakit kulelat ang mga batang Pilipino sa math and science sa ilalim ng panunungkulan niya bilang DepEd secretary? Kung bakit sirang gatas, may insekto at inaamag na nutribun ang pinamimigay sa mga mag-aaral?” he asked rhetorically.
(Why are Filipino students lagging behind in math and science under her tenure as DepEd Secretary? Why are students being given spoiled milk, and nurtibuns with insects and mold?)
Rappler has reached out to Romualdez’s office for his reaction, but he has yet to reply as of writing. We will update this article once he does.
Duterte’s video interview released on Tuesday, the same day she was supposed to attend the resumption of the House budget deliberations of her office’s 2025 proposed budget. In the last budget hearing on August 27, she had a messy and ugly exchange with lawmakers.
During the last hearing, Duterte repeatedly dodged House member’s questions on her past confidential expenses, which totaled P775 million for Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the DepEd from 2022 to 2023. Her non-sequiturs and rude comments prompted the House panel to defer her budget request.
The OVP is requesting a P2.037 billion budget for 2025, up from P1.885 billion this year. From 2022 to 2023, Duterte received parliamentary courtesy from the House, with no questions asked during committee-level budget deliberations.
Duterte has been in the news since leaving the Marcos Cabinet, with her budget utilization as DepEd secretary now under congressional and public scrutiny. (READ: Sara Duterte-led DepEd built only 192 of 6,300 target classrooms in 2023 – COA)
In an August interview, Duterte suggested that “budget” issues were one reason for her resignation from the Marcos Cabinet, though she did not provide specifics.
“So, dagdag ko lang ‘yan doon sa confirmation na kinuha nila ‘yung budget ng DepEd. At isa ‘yan sa mga rason kung bakit ako nag-resign sa Department of Education. Hindi na ako papayag na sa susunod na taon ganyan pa rin ang gawin nila at ako ‘yung mananagot sa ginagawa nila. Kaya ‘yan ‘yung sinasabi ko, “Oh, bakit pa tayo mag-question and answer dito para atakihin niyo ako. Eh, ang masusunod lang naman sa budget dalawang tao lang,” Duterte said.
(So, I’m adding this to confirm that they took the DepEd budget. This is one reason why I resigned from the Department of Education. I won’t accept being held responsible for their actions next year if they continue this way. That’s why I’m saying, ‘Why should we go through questioning here when only two people control the budget?’) – Rappler.com