Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte slammed Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Director Rafael Ongpin for alleging that Vice President Sara Duterte “misspent” her confidential and intelligence funds.
In a televised interview on Monday, Ongpin claimed the funds “aren’t being spent on national security,” saying, “She can’t show where the money went… and what the results of the investigation are. I don’t see them.”
Responding in a statement the following day, Duterte fired back, saying Ongpin “clearly doesn’t know the nitty-gritty” of how such funds are managed. “You talk as if confidential and intelligence funds are some kind of secret stash,” he said, urging the business leader to “try to run a city to get a grasp of what governance means.”
The Davao lawmaker explained that the funds are governed by a joint circular from the Department of Budget and Management, Commission on Audit, Department of National Defense, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned Corporations. He emphasized that all disbursements are “properly documented, liquidated, and subject to COA post-audit.”
“This is not spent wantonly — contrary to your usual gossip-based conclusions,” Duterte added.
He further claimed that criticism of the Vice President was politically motivated, linking it to her efforts as Education secretary to curb communist recruitment in schools.
Duterte also challenged Ongpin to scrutinize other government agencies with confidential allocations, such as the Office of the President, the DILG, the Armed Forces, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation. “Did you ever ask who signed those billions? Or does your outrage conveniently end where your alliances begin?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Malacañang maintained that any probe into Duterte’s use of confidential funds rests with the Office of the Ombudsman. “It’s in the hands of the Office of the Ombudsman,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a text message to reporters.
The petitions filed by Tindig Pilipinas and Akbayan Party-list are calling for a full audit of the ₱625 million confidential funds used by the Vice President’s office, ₱125 million of which was reportedly spent within 11 days in 2022.
A House inquiry earlier revealed discrepancies in the liquidation documents submitted by the Office of the Vice President, including receipts with wrong dates, illegible or missing signatories, and questionable acknowledgment records. These findings formed part of the impeachment complaint filed last year against Sara Duterte, who has consistently denied all accusations of fund misuse and alleged political conspiracy.
