Solon on VP Sara Duterte tirades: I made ‘real and tangible service’
Vice President Sara Duterte. File photo.
MANILA, Philippines — Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano is firm that “no amount of personal insult” against him can erase the “real and tangible” service he has delivered to the people of Tondo and Manila.
His statement issued on Monday was in response to what he called “negative campaigning” of Vice President Sara Duterte, which she delivered during a campaign rally of former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno in Tondo last week.
During the rally, Duterte mocked the physical appearance of “a Manila lawmaker” whom she said “accuses her of everything without any evidence.”
READ: VP Sara-Duterte mocks appearance of Manila lawmaker
“Sara and Isko can mock my appearance every day, my neck, belly but this will not erase the true service I brought to the second district of Manila,” Valeriano said in Filipino.
`Will not stoop down to the level’
The Manila lawmaker, who also chairs the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, stressed that he would not “stoop to the level of those who resort to personal attacks.”
Instead, Valeriano promoted the endeavors of Asenso Manileño, the local party he chairs.
“There are many positive aspects that we, in Asenso Manileño, choose to focus on, which matter in Manileños daily lives. The voters want to see results from the taxes they pay. So, we delivered health facilities, police precincts, financial aid, and scholarships,” he said.
“Tangible results are what voters here look for,” Valeriano added.
In his district, the lawmaker mentioned the construction of 95 barangay halls, six police community precincts, as well as improvements of Bo. Obrero Health Center and Tayabas Health Center, among many others.
Last year, the House committee on good government and public accountability launched a probe into the budget and fund utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Privilege speech
The probe stemmed from the privilege speech of Valeriano on September 3, 2024, and the motu proprio inquiry based on the manifestation of Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro.
In his privilege speech, Valeriano questioned the proposed budget of the OVP for 2025 and the status of its “ayuda” (aid) programs, reportedly limited within the National Capital Region from 2023 to 2025.
The lawmaker said the OVP should prove that the 977,615 beneficiaries of its financial aid are not “ghost beneficiaries.”
A Commission on Audit report in 2022 revealed that the OVP had an additional allotment of P125 million for confidential expenses during the second semester of the same year.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, however, pointed out that the OVP had no such allocation in the 2022 General Appropriations Act, adding that its transfer was illegal.
In September 2024, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo bared that the confidential fund was spent in 11 days during the plenary debates on COA’s proposed budget for last year.
