A lawmaker declared Monday that Vice President Sara Duterte's repeated ranting and supposed obvious self-entitled pronouncements on governance matters are the last thing the country needs.
Duterte suddenly became critical of the administration of her erstwhile ally, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.
“Why are we hearing all these only now? It only shows what kind of politician she is. She will make it appear that she’s an ally if it will only suit her interests, then attack when she no longer needs the use for it. She has just shown her true colors,” House Assistant Majority Leader and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon observed.
Bongalon also noted that the former mayor of Davao City had been “silent” on problems surrounding the Department of Education for the past two years since she took over its helm, but surprisingly, she made a litany only after she resigned.
“Did she even help our overburdened and overworked public school teachers? At one point, I can still vividly recall that she suggested holding Saturday classes only to catch up with the targeted June school calendar opening, which President Marcos politely declined,” he said.
Bongalon reminded Duterte that all these sour-grape issues of Duterte are “counter-productive” when DepEd problems could have been partially addressed if not solved totally during her reign, considering that she has been enjoying massive popularity ratings.
“Show some humility, Ms. VP! Your complaints could have been addressed, and they could have resulted in more productive endeavors if you had raised them early on. Don’t make government your punching bag,” he said. “When you were DepEd chief, did you even attempt to improve learning competencies?”
“The hands of public school teachers are full; the last thing they need is an additional burden on their shoulders,” Bongalon pointed out. “I don’t even think the ratio per student class, along with the heavy administrative work of teachers, have been reduced.”
“Don’t be ungrateful to the government, Madam VP. Anyway, it’s government – whose lifeblood (taxes) is sourced from taxpayers’ hard-earned money – that has been responsible for paying the salaries of your nearly 400 bodyguards,” he said with sarcasm.
According to Bongalon, perennial teacher welfare problems, including long working hours, a high teacher-student ratio, the burden of administrative tasks, promotion opportunities, and commensurate compensation, should have been addressed during her reign.
“The age-old problem of shortage of classrooms and facilities, issues on quality of instructional materials, and inadequate student learning competencies should have also been addressed,” the legislator reiterated.
Meanwhile, a leader of the “Young Guns” in the House of Representatives is questioning why Vice President Sara Duterte is blaming the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for what she described as an unfunded Davao City anti-flood program when the Dutertes have ruled over the city for over 33 years and counting.
“Yung issue kasi doon sa flood control project dun sa Davao, parang hindi naman po yata tama na sisihin mo yung national government sa pagbaha doon … Bakit? Tingnan ho natin, magkakaroon lang po tayo ng brief history: ilang taon po ba sa panunungkulan ang pamilya Duterte sa Davao City? Kung hindi po ako nagkakamali 33 years,” said Ako Bicol Rep. Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon.
Bongalon also disclosed during the daily briefings in the House of Representatives that Davao City has one of the largest shares in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) among cities in the whole of the Philippines.
“At ang alam ko po ang Davao City ay isa sa may pinakamalaking IRA or the Internal Revenue Allotment or ngayon po ‘yung tinatawag na National Tax Allotment. Doon pa lang po sa budget na yun, pwede po nilang pondohan yung flood control project at bakit mo isisisisi sa kasalukuyang administrasyon?” he asked.
VP Duterte indirectly blamed the Marcos administration for not funding the Davao anti-flood masterplan and asked if this was because a Duterte is serving as mayor, referring to her brother Baste Duterte.
Bongalon said that in fact, VP Duterte’s other brother Davao City Rep. Pulong Duterte has infrastructure allocations totaling P51 billion during the last three years of their father’s term, former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
“Ito po lumabas na po ito, January of this year, galing po mismo kay USec. Catrina Cabral ng DPWH, ang pondo po ng distrito Congressman Pulong Duterte last congress ay umabot po ng P51 billion. Ngayon ang tanong, saan po ba napunta doon? Parte po ba nun ay napunta sa flood control project?” Bongalon said.
“Yun naman po ‘yung tanong ko sa kanila. P51 billion, imagine, with that huge amount of public funds bakit hindi po na-address ‘yung baha sa Davao? So, nasaan po? Anong proyekto ang napapuntahan po na sinabing napakalaking pera or pondo ng bayan?” he said.
“So, I guess bago po tayo magturo dapat tinignan man lang muna nila kung ano ang kanilang ginawa para ma-address at ma-resolbahan ng isyu pong ito,” he added.
House leaders also sounded the alarm over Vice President Sara Duterte’s “deafening silence” on Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the involvement of some Chinese nationals in transnational crimes in the Philippines.
Assistant Majority Leaders Paolo Ortega V (La Union, 1st District), Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur, 1st District), and Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol Partylist) underscored the importance of standing with the Philippines in the face of aggression and transnational crimes linked to Chinese nationals.
“Parang nakabibingi ‘yung katahimikan,” Ortega said, referring to the Vice President’s apparent avoidance of issues concerning the country’s sovereignty and national security.
“Lahat naman tayo dito mahal natin ang Pilipinas. Dapat Filipino ang kampihan, dapat pro-‘Pinas tayo,” Ortega stressed.
The Vice President has remained silent on the ongoing Chinese aggression in the WPS, including the recent incident where China's air force deployed flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force plane patrolling over Bajo de Masinloc, which drew strong condemnation from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
She has also remained silent on the reported link between drug trafficking and other heinous crimes associated with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that proliferated during her father’s term, as well as the extrajudicial killings tied to the previous administration's bloody anti-drug campaign -- issues that led the 300-plus members House of Representatives to establish a quad committee for investigation.
Adiong, who also chairs the House ad hoc Committee on Marawi Rehabilitation and Victims Compensation, described the Vice President’s silence on these critical issues as both disappointing and unbecoming of a leader of her stature.
“Personally, I'm trying to question, why apart from all of these things happening, nagkaroon nga po recently ‘yung flare ng Chinese government in the [WPS], she remains to be silent about it,” Adiong said.
He continued, “She is the second highest public official of the land, next to the President, and her position on these is very important. Whether her silence will be treated as apathy, that would definitely spell out and define the kind of leader that she is.”
Bongalon also weighed in, stressing that Vice President Duterte’s continued silence on the WPS issue raises questions among the public.
“Kung ang pinag-uusapan natin ay tungkol na sa soberanya ng ating bansa, expect mo dapat na maglabas man lang siya ng kanyang pahayag, suporta laban po sa China,” Bongalon pointed out. “Pero for the longest time na naging Bise Presidente siya—July 1, 2022 hanggang ngayon, may narinig na po ba kayo na pahayag niya laban sa China? Ang sagot po: wala!”
Bongalon said despite differences in policies or programs, the government must present a united front when it comes to territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
He noted that the Vice President’s lack of a statement on these issues stands in stark contrast to the strong condemnation from other leaders, leaving Filipinos to question where her loyalties lie.
“So ano po ba ang ibig sabihin nito? Magtatanong po talaga ang taongbayan, hindi ba mag-iisip sila bakit hanggang ngayon wala pa rin pong pahayag si Bise Presidente Sara Duterte patungkol sa mga isyu dyan po sa [WPS]? Ano po ba ang ibig sabihin nyan? Hindi naman po bobo ang mga Filipino. Alam nila ang ibig sabihin niyan,” Bongalon said.
He added: “That is why we are calling for our public officials, our co-workers in the government na kung magkakasalungat po tayo sa mga polisiya, sa mga program, pero kung usapin na po sa ating teritoryo at sa ating bansa, dapat united ang ating statement. Sa ngayon, ang ating Bise Presidente po lamang ang wala pong salita o pahayag patungkol sa isyu ng [WPS].”
Adiong emphasized the need for all public officials, especially those in high positions, to demonstrate patriotism by standing against China’s encroachments.
“Now is the time for all Filipinos to call for patriotism and voice our sentiments in joining this administration’s fight against Chinese aggression, both outside and within our country,” Adiong said.
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