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Hontiveros on Duterte's 'no respect' remark: Just respect public funds

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Jauhn Etienne Villaruel, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Senate PRIB" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/09/11/20230911-risa-sara.jpg"/><figcaption>Sen. Risa Hontiveros and Vice President Sara Duterte. <em>Senate PRIB</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATE)</strong> — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Thursday urged Vice President Sara Duterte to simply justify her office&#x27;s request for confidential funds next year instead of issuing &quot;tirades.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/23/flair-for-drama-hontiveros-hits-back-at-vp-sara-after-personal-attack">Flair for drama? Hontiveros hits back at VP Sara after &#x27;personal attack&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>Hontiveros made the call following Duterte&#x27;s statement Tuesday that she had &quot;no respect&quot; for the senator and Rep. France Castro, who criticized the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Educations&#x27;s (DepEd) proposed confidential funds.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/23/senate-revives-panel-on-intel-confidential-funds">Senate revives oversight panel on intel, confidential funds</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Hindi ko kailangan ang respect mo, VP Sara,&quot; Hontiveros said. &quot;Ang hinihingi ko sa iyo, at ng taumbayan, ay accountability. Kaya i-account nyo na lang kung para saan ang hinihingi nyong confidential funds.&quot; </p><p>The senator said Duterte should show respect in spending funds from the state coffers.</p><p>&quot;Kung hindi mo kayang irespeto ang mga katrabaho mo, irespeto mo man lang sana ang paggasta ng pera ng bayan,&quot; Hontiveros said. </p><p>&quot;Mas marami ka pang patutsada kaysa sa paliwanag,&quot; she added.</p><p>In an earlier statement, Castro also asked Duterte to refrain from &quot;taking ad hominem pot shots at those who question her.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We urge the Vice President to address the issues head on and provide complete answers to the questions posed by myself and others regarding her confidential funds,&quot; Castro said.</p><p>Duterte had singled out Hontiveros and Castro for their &quot;dirty imagination&quot; after they called out her office&#x27;s use of confidential funds.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/06/23/senate-revives-panel-on-intel-confidential-funds">Senate revives oversight panel on intel, confidential funds</a></li></ul><p>The Office of the President in 2022 transferred some P221.4 million to the OVP, including the P125 million in confidential funds.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/11/23/duterte-thanks-allies-for-defending-confidential-funds">Sara Duterte thanks allies for defending 2022 confidential funds</a></li></ul><p>Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the transfers complied with a provision under the 2022 contingent fund.</p><p>“Vice President Sara, who was newly elected then, needed funds for her new programs for the remaining period of 2022. The President supported this initiative and released the funds, with the favorable recommendation of [the budget department],&quot; Bersamin said last week.</p><p>Duterte said Bersamin&#x27;s explanation showed that the &quot;request, approval, and spending of the fund violated no law.&quot;</p><p>Meanwhile, a lawmaker from the House of Representatives said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also defended the 2022 transfer of funds to the OVP.</p><p>According to House appropriations panel chair Zaldy Co, DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman wrote him a letter explaining that the Office of the President did not violate laws when it released contingency funds to the OVP in 2022.</p><p>Co said Pangandaman explained that the release of funds to Duterte’s office was not an augmentation or transfer of funds from the Office of the President.</p><p>&quot;While it is understandable that, at the outset, the release of funds to the OVP may be perceived as a transfer, the same was not technically so, for such release was funded from Contingent Fund under the FY 2022 GAA and not from the budget of the OP,” said Pangandaman as quoted by Co.</p><p>Co&#x27;s press release also said that the DBM letter explained that the grant was intended to support the OVP’s Good Governance Engagements and Social Services Projects.</p><div><strong>—With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5x_8K8L0ho?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said she was not demanding Vice President Sara Duterte's respect.

Hontiveros on Duterte's 'no respect' remark: Just respect public funds

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Hontiveros on Duterte's 'no respect' remark: Just respect public funds

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 14, 2023 04:32 PM PHT

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Updated Sep 14, 2023 07:22 PM PHT

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Senate

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Risa Hontiveros

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Sara Duterte

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France Castro

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