The second hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on September 26, 2024, revealed the staggering extent of corruption under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) led by Vice President (VP) Sara Duterte. The shocking revelations, confirmed by Atty. Gloria A. Camora of the Commission on Audit (COA) exposed how confidential funds amounting to PhP125 million were disbursed to the OVP on December 20, 2022, under the guise of “intelligence and security activities.” Within an impossible span of just 11 days, the entirety of this obscene amount was fully utilized, equating to around PhP11 million per day. This raises serious questions about the utilization of the government’s resources.

For context, this PhP125 million allocated for just the last quarter of 2022 far surpasses the total confidential funds requested by the OVP under the leadership of the last five vice presidents combined. In fact, during former VP Leni Robredo’s entire term from 2016 to 2022, not a single peso was allotted for confidential funds. If the OVP could operate effectively without these funds for decades, what exactly is VP Sara Duterte spending them on? What could possibly justify burning through millions daily for the alleged “surveillance” of 132 government agencies in just 11 days?

Aside from the PhP125 million disbursed on December 20, 2022, Duterte’s OVP requested an eye-popping PhP125 million in confidential funds for each of the first three quarters of 2023, amounting to a total of PhP500 million. Out of these funds, only 10% has been cleared by COA, with the rest under question. This begs the question – how many more millions are being squandered on “questionable expenses,” conveniently hidden behind the label of “confidential”?

Under Duterte’s term as Secretary of Education, the situation at the Department of Education was no better. The department floundered under her leadership, with thousands of promised laptops undelivered, funds for disaster management left idle, and the much-needed feeding program for public school children shelved, despite the ample resources at her disposal. These are only some of the mishaps that has defined the Department of Education with VP Sara Duterte at its helm. This level of mismanagement not only cripples the country’s educational system but also robs the youth of opportunities for a better future.

And let’s not forget the lavish payouts to subordinates, likely intended to buy loyalty and influence their decisions. These bribes, possibly masked as “gifts”, as well as the millions of unaccounted funds and billions more of mismanaged government resources pose the question: Are these public funds being siphoned off to bolster the Duterte family’s political war chest? The real tragedy is that, while the education system crumbles, public funds are seemingly funneled into personal and political gain.

It’s becoming clearer every day: Sara Duterte’s office is in chaos, her financial management is shady at best, and her promises to the Filipino people are unraveling as nothing more than hollow rhetoric. It appears that VP Sara’s competency only extends to benefitting her family’s pockets and not serving the country. How long will she keep dodging accountability? How long will the public be expected to swallow her flimsy excuses? The Filipino people deserve answers, and Sara must eventually answer for these as a public official elected to serve the country, not line her own pockets.

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