SENATOR Sonny Angara bared Vice President Sara Duterte “will no longer pursue” the requested P500 million confidential and intelligence funds for her office next year.
Angara, chair of the Senate committee on finance and sponsor of the 2024 national budget bill, said his office received “a statement from the VP” maintaining that the Office of the Vice President would only propose a 2024 budget that would ensure the implementation of its programs against poverty, among others.
In her statement released on Thursday, Duterte said she will no longer ask for the controversial fund because ‘the issue is divisive, and as a vice president, I swore on oath to keep the country peaceful and strong.’
“Your honor, actually, we are in receipt of a statement from the VP [and] we discussed [it] earlier. According to her, the OVP can only propose a budget to support the safe implementation of its programs to alleviate poverty and promote [the] general welfare of Filipino families,” Angara said.
Angara read Duterte’s statement after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III questioned if Duterte is appealing for the reinstatement of the P500 million confidential fund which the House of Representatives removed and reallocated to the government’s security agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard.
Duterte was physically present during the Senate plenary deliberations on Thursday.
metrosundaily
