Palace: VP Sara abandoned gov’t, not the other way around

Vice President Sara Duterte (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Malacañang said Monday it was Vice President Sara Z. Duterte who abandoned the government, downplaying her claims that the administration turned its back on the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro reacted to Duterte’s remarks during an event in Hong Kong over the weekend, where the latter claimed that the government left the OVP behind.

Castro emphasized that the Vice President was given an opportunity to defend her proposed 2025 budget.

Instead, Duterte skipped the plenary deliberations of the OVP’s 2025 budget at the House of Representatives, prompting lawmakers to trim down the budget allocation.

“Iyan naman po ang nais nilang iparating, maging kaawa-awa ang OVP, maging kaawa-awa ang Vice President (That’s what they want people to believe, that the OVP is pitiful, that we should feel pity for the Vice President),” Castro said.

“Kung tutuusin po natin, siya po naman ay binigyan ng pagkakataon para ipagtanggol, idipensa ang kanyang proposed budget. Hindi naman po hinahadlangan na magbigay ng tamang budget sa OVP, kung ito naman ay maipapaliwanag niya (In fact, she was given the opportunity to defend her proposed budget. She is not prevented from providing a proper budget for the OVP, if she can explain it),” she added.

Castro stressed that it was the Vice President’s responsibility to properly justify the OVP’s proposed budget before it could be allocated.

“Kumbaga sa thesis, kung ikaw ay nag-submit ng thesis, kailangan mong idipensa. Hindi mo puwedeng sabihin sa iyong panel of judges, kayo na po ang bahalang magbigay sa akin ng grade, basta iyan na po ang thesis ko (Just like in a thesis, if you submit a thesis, you have to defend it. You can’t tell your panel of judges, ‘just give me a grade, that’s my thesis’),” she said.

She stressed it was Duterte who distanced herself from the administration.

“Wala pong nang-iwan sa kanya. Baka po siya po ang nang-iwan sa gobyerno (No one left her. It was her who abandoned the government),” she said.