SHORT of calling her a liar, Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon yesterday accused Vice President Sara Duterte of issuing unfounded statements in criticizing the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr..
In a statement, Gadon said Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte is “not doing any research nor checking the veracity of her allegations before issuing statements in her capacity as the vice president.”
“VP Sara seems to be too impulsive in issuing statements that are not supported with facts,” said Gadon.
Gadon made the statement in reaction to the younger Duterte’s pronouncements regarding the lack of government funding for flood control projects in Davao City because “the mayor is a Duterte.”
The vice president has been under fire lately for leaving the country and flying to Germany reportedly to watch Taylor Swift’s concert at the height of Typhoon Carina’s devastation of the country, which her critics say is too insensitive on her part.
She had also been ranting regarding the pullout of some of her security details even when her total security is more than half a battalion size, almost ten times bigger than that of the president’s security.
In her statement the other day, Duterte lashed back at Senate President Francis Escudero, without naming him, saying that contrary to Escudero’s claim, there was no funding for Davao City’s flood control. She averred it was her who ordered the city's engineer office and the Department of Public Works and Highways to study the flood problem of the city.
This, according to her, was the basis of her father's creation of a flood control master plan, which was started in 2026 and published in 2023.
However, Gadon said he no longer needs to refute the vice president as news articles published in leading national dailies would attest there were billions of pesos allotted to Davao City’s flood control projects, released though her brother, Representative Paolo Duterte.
“To refute her statements, I will no longer use my own words nor my own findings. I will just repost news articles including an article about the 51 Billion funds released to Rep. Paolo Duterte,” said Gadon.
Gadon gave the summary of the news articles which he claims were specific flood control projects under the Duterte administration that were reported to be involved in corruption and misuse of funds include the following:
a) DPWH Flood Control Projects in Cagayan and Maguindanao.
These projects were highlighted in Senate hearings for alleged corruption involving billions of pesos. Senator Panfilo Lacson pointed out that there were irregularities in the implementation of these projects, where funds were allegedly funneled through favored contractors in what was described as a “flood control scam.”
b) Flood Mitigation Structures in Metro Manila.
Despite large budget allocations, including the ₱23.5 billion Metro Manila Flood Management Project, the region continued to experience severe flooding. Allegations were made that some contractors inflated costs and compromised the quality of materials, leading to ineffective flood mitigation efforts.
c) Nationwide Flood Control Projects by DPWH.
Numerous small-scale flood control projects across various regions were flagged for anomalies. These projects, funded under the DPWH's general flood control budget, were found to have inconsistencies in documentation, ghost deliveries, and substandard construction, leading to the projects being ineffective and sometimes non-existent.
“These instances of corruption and misuse have been part of broader concerns over the lack of transparency and accountability within the DPWH during the Duterte administration,” said Gadon.
The presidential adviser also shared a news article which detailed the vice president’s brother’s pork which totaled to P51 billion for three years.
According to the article, no less than DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral confirmed that the congressional district of Duterte got the allocation based on the General Appropriations Acts of the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The proposed 2020 budget for Duterte’s congressional district was P4.6 billion worth of infrastructure projects. However, the amount ballooned to P13.745 billion when the 2020 GAA was signed by his father.
For 2021, Malacañang proposed a P9.67-billion budget but like the previous year, the younger Duterte’s district got P25 billion based on the 2021 GAA.
Under the 2022 NEP, the last budget prepared by the Duterte administration, Paolo Duterte’s district got a P10-billion proposed budget. And like the previous years under his father’s presidency, the final approved budget was increased. Instead of P10 billion, Paolo’s congressional district received P13.04 billion in the 2022 GAA.
Meanwhile, over at the House of Representatives, Manila Rep. Joel Chua continued his verbal tussle against the vice president saying Duterte’s uncalled comments on Marcos’s disaster response might be diversionary tactic.
“I think her attacks against the President is one way of diverting the issue of her travel to Germany at the height of Carina’s onslaught,” Chua said in a media forum, adding that the younger Duterte’s comments is unfair, noting that the recent typhoons that hit the country is greater than Typhoon Ondoy, that also caused heavy flooding back in 2009.
He also said that the current administration took office only two years before the said disaster compared to the previous ones.
When asked whether the City of Manila received aid from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Chua said that he has no idea.
The Manila official clarified that VP Sara is not restrained from going out of the country, but seeing a leader on the ground after a disaster will help ease people’s worries and concerns.
At the same forum, Chua noted that Duterte has yet to make a stand regarding the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) issue.
“Until now, we don’t know what her stand is on the issue,” said Chua.
But more importantly, Chua said that that Duterte's criticisms of the chief executive and the administration will only “destroy the image” of the Philippines.
Chua also said that efforts to “destabilize” the government will damage the country's image.
He said the Vice President's unfounded criticisms would only negatively affect the situation, especially regarding possible foreign investors' views on the Philippines. He noted that the country's economy is still not stable.
For her part, House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin strongly rejected Duterte’s recent claims that the government’s budget, particularly during her time as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), was mishandled.
“It’s clear that DepEd has always received the largest budget. If there were problems, they likely came from a lack of direction and a poor system of implementation,” Garin said.
“Finger-pointing and blaming others will bring us nowhere. Leadership is all about being captain of the ship,” Garin said.
Duterte, who recently resigned as DepEd Secretary, claimed that despite her efforts to address the problem of budget mishandling during her tenure, she received no support and witnessed no significant changes.
“If there were issues during VP Sarah’s tenure as DepED Sec, why didn’t she raise them when she had the power to make changes?” Garin asked.
“It’s easy to claim a lack of support after the fact, but real leadership is about taking action and making a difference when it matters, not after you’ve stepped down,” Garin stressed.
Garin also stressed the importance of accountability.
“DepEd had the resources, yet we saw little improvement in key areas like education quality and infrastructure,” she added.
According to Garin, oversight meetings on the DepEd budget revealed textbooks, school furniture, learning materials, IT hardware amounting to billions, languishing for two to three years in various warehouses.
“If there was mismanagement, it’s time to own up to it and work on real solutions, not just criticize from the sidelines,” Garin said.
Instead of engaging the administration in a word war, another House leader, Assistant Majority Leader and Taguig 2nd District Rep. Pammy Zamora urged Duterte to prioritize collaboration over pointed criticism.
“Vice President Sara Duterte's criticism on issues that range from flood control projects to her reduced security is more polarizing than productive,” Zamora stated.
“On flood control, let’s not forget that the Dutertes were in full control for 6 years. How can they be sidelined for crucial infra projects? On the matter of her security entourage, the PNP Chief has said she still retains almost 390 security personnel. I doubt anyone would still find that inadequate,” said Zamora.
“All of us in the House are ready to work hand in hand with all officials whose input are productive to the national agenda. Just like what Senate President Escudero said, I also encourage the Vice President to constructively use her position, resources and resources,” Zamora stressed.
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