Has VP Sara’s critic been promoted?

IT seems like one of Vice President Sara Duterte’s critics, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, has been promoted after being appointed as the chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

The said committee, equivalent to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, was previously led by San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan Rep. Rida Robes and is tasked with investigating the misuse of government funds.

Meanwhile, former Negros Occidental Rep. Kiko Benitez was appointed as the chairman of the House committee on housing and urban development after it became vacant following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s appointment of Benitez as the director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

It is widely known that aside from the Makabayan bloc, Chua challenged the Vice President to resign from Marcos’ Cabinet after attending the Maisug Rally in Davao, where the President was criticized as being “high.” Chua also urged Duterte to speak out against China’s harassment.

The young lawmaker also labeled the Vice President as an “entitled brat” due to her behavior during the budget hearing of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and her failure to answer legitimate questions about how she used her P125 million confidential funds in 2022.

Currently, the House is preparing to investigate the anomalous bidding in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) purchase of laptops during Duterte’s time, with Chua expected to lead the investigation as the chairman of the committee.

On the other hand, Chua’s colleague in the House, Manila 3rd district Rep. Rolando, reprimanded the Vice President in his privilege speech last night, calling her a “bully with cowardly behavior.”

Valeriano has requested Duterte to submit a list of beneficiaries of the Socioeconomic Programs who received assistance from his office since 2023, as it appears that all those helped are from the National Capital Region (NCR).

“As the Chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, I am just wondering where in Metro Manila the billions from the Socioeconomic Programs of his office went,” Valeriano stated.