PALACE Press Officer Claire Castro has directly refuted Vice President Sara Duterte’s assertion that the Marcos administration has neglected the Office of the Vice President (OVP). During a Monday press briefing, Castro accused Duterte of attempting to garner public sympathy through this claim.
“That is what they want to convey—to make the OVP look pitiful, to make the Vice President appear pitiful,” Castro stated, according to a translation of her remarks from Filipino.
Duterte’s allegation was made during a campaign event in Hong Kong last Sunday for Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban’s senatorial candidates. In her statement, Duterte expressed gratitude to her supporters, emphasizing that they were the only ones supporting the OVP and implying a lack of support from the broader government. “Thank you for your support to me, to my colleagues in our work, and to the programs and projects of the Office of the Vice President. Thank you very much to all of you because you are the only ones supporting the OVP. The entire government has the OVP behind,” she said.
Castro countered Duterte’s claims by highlighting the OVP’s opportunity to present and defend its budget before Congress. Using an analogy, Castro explained, “It’s like a thesis—if you submit one, you need to defend it. You can’t just tell your panel of judges, ‘It’s up to you to give me a grade; that’s my thesis.’ So, no one abandoned her—perhaps she is the one who abandoned the government.”
Furthermore, Castro also dismissed Duterte’s separate claim that she was defrauded by the “UniTeam” during the 2022 national elections. The Palace’s strong rebuttal suggests a significant disagreement between the Vice President and the administration regarding the OVP’s funding and support. The conflicting narratives leave the public to weigh the differing accounts and determine the true extent of support the OVP receives from the Marcos administration.
