Martin Romualdez, House members slam VP Sara Duterte's tirades: 'Accountability is not optional'
House Speaker Martin Romualdez and several House members have addressed the death threats made by Vice President Sara Duterte, saying that it is a form of distraction to the investigation on Duterte's alleged misuse of confidential funds.
In his opening statement in the third regular session of the House on Monday, Nov. 25, Romualdez struck back at Duterte, saying such accusations against him are untrue and are meant to “sow division and create chaos.”
“We each choose unity over division, dialogue over conflict, and cooperation over confrontation. Why these baseless accusations? The answer is simple: to divert attention from the mounting evidence of fund misuse under her leadership at the Office of Vice President and Department of Education,” Romualdez said.
“The issue surrounding confidential and intelligence funds, the questionable disbursements, and the lack of transparency demand answers. We will not tolerate and accept vague explanations and evasive responses,” he continued, adding that it’s the Filipino people’s right to know the truth.
Romualdez also stressed, that “accountability is not optional” and “transparency is non-negotiable.”
“Those entrusted with public funds must be prepared to explain when it was disbursed and how does resources were utilized. Hindi ito personal; ito ay usapin ng pananagutan at tiwala ng taumbayan,” he added.
“Instead of providing clarity, we have seen attempts to shift the narrative, to create distractions, and to fabricate stories,” he said.
Romualdez went on to stress that the lower chamber is a sacred institution, and its dignity “must be upheld at all times,” and doing otherwise “is a disrespect to the Filipino people and constitution.”
“My colleagues, I call on you to stand with me in defending this institution. Ipaglaban natin ang dignidad ng kongreso, ipaglaban natin ang katotohanan, ipaglaban natin ang demokrasya,” stressing that it is not about personal interests, and they are focused on upholding “accountability transparency, and service.”
He added that the country must not be tarnished by individuals who have “manipulative tactics, cruel armies, and few blind followers.”
“I reaffirm my unwavering support to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and his administration,” he concluded.
House reps back up
Several members of the House echoed Romualdez's sentiments, stressing that the House must protect its dignity, and reiterating that Duterte's accusations are meant to create division and distraction.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe expressed his "unwavering support" to the House and its leader, Romualdez. Dalipe also slammed Duterte, noting that her breach of protocol, use of vindictive language, and the threat of harm aimed at Romualdez and Marcos "show a deep and encompassing disrespect for the Rule of Law."
House Deputy Speaker David “Jay-jay” Suarez also said Duterte's death threats are not an "off-hand remark that can be swept under the rug."
"This is an admission by the second-highest official in the land of a pre-meditated intent to harm the highest leader of our government," Suarez said.
Bataan 2nd District rep. Albert Garcia, for his part, said that the Office of the Vice President should "embody integrity and leadership" and not serve as a platform for "threats and violence." He also stressed that the House must demand "full accounting of [Duterte's] actions" and "hold her to the highest standards of accountability."
Before this, Romualdez's cousin and the incumbent president addressed the death threats issued by the incumbent vice president via Facebook Live stressing that such a serious threat is not something to let pass.
“Nakakabahala ang mga pahayag na narinig natin nitong mga nakaraang araw. Nandiyan ang walang pakundangang pagmumura at ang pagbabanta ng planong ipapatay ang ilan sa atin,” Marcos began in his statement.
“Kung ganun na lang kadali ang pagplano sa pagpatay ng isang Presidente, papaano pa kaya ang mga pangkaraniwan na mamamayan? ‘Yang ganyang krimimal na pagtatangka ay hindi dapat pinapalampas. ‘Yan ay aking papalagan,” he added.
Duterte: 'I do not expect fairness from this government'
Hours later, Duterte spoke to the media as she awaited the hearing into her alleged fund misuse to resume.
When asked about her comments on Marcos’ early statement that he would fight back, she brought up the Marcos family’s alleged assassination of the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino.
“Oo, ‘di ba pumalag nga ang taumbayan nung pinatay ng pamilya nila si Benigno Aquino Jr.?” Duterte said.
Duterte also lamented how the National Security Council would consider the threat against Marcos, a national security concern, while her early complaint about threats against her life was “dismissed.”
“Nagsabi ang NSC concern ang threat sa president, pero apparently, they really do not consider the threat to the vice president as anything of a concern. What kind of country is this? Hindi ba parte ng gobyerno ang vice president? ‘Di ba ako binoto ng mga tao?” Duterte said.
Despite this, Duterte said she would not take legal action because she no longer expects fairness from the current administration, which is why she is "pussyfooting with court cases."
On the other hand, Duterte slammed the House for the detention of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez who was cited in contempt by the House of Representatives, saying that House members do not know the law.
Duterte vs Marcoses, Romualdez
Duterte made headlines when she made a threat against Marcoses and Romualdez during a midnight Zoom press conference on Nov. 23.
It was after a months-long probe into the actions of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) that eventually reached a point where her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was cited in contempt by the House of Representatives and was detained.
“’Wag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, 'Pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,'" Duterte revealed.
"Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. 'Pag namatay ako, 'wag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapapatay sila.' And then he said yes," she added.
In the same press conference, Duterte also claimed that Romualdez wanted her dead.
The two began their rift when Romualdez spearheaded efforts to strip the VP office and DepEd of its confidential funds. The House of Representatives mostly made up of Marcos supporters, also pushed to suspend the pro-Duterte network SMNI after a host accused Marcos' cousin of spending P1.8 billion on 2023 travels.
Duterte has been in hot water since August following the alleged misuse of funds for her office's socioeconomic programs and her refusal to answer questions regarding her office's expenses, particularly the confidential funds worth P775 million for the OVP and DepEd during her budget proposal's first hearing.
She was seeking a P2.037-billion budget for 2025, which was cut to P733 million. Her office has a P1.885-billion budget for 2024.
