News Roundup 09 November 2023
Nov 09, 2023 • 5 min Read
After Congress pushback, Sara withdraws confidential funds request | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has dropped her request for P650 million-worth of confidential funds in the proposed budget for next year following months of widespread pushback that led her to tag critics as “enemies of the people.”
In a statement sent to Sen. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee, Duterte said that she has withdrawn her confidential fund request because the “issue” has become “divisive.”
“[We] will no longer pursue the Confidential Funds. Why? Because this issue is divisive, and as the Vice President, I swore an oath to keep the country peaceful and strong,” Duterte said in a statement.
The Office of the Vice President can “only propose a budget to support the safe implementation of our programs, activities, and projects to alleviate poverty and promote the general welfare of every Filipino family,” the statement read.
Duterte originally requested P650 million-worth of confidential funds in the proposed 2024 budget. Broken down, P500 million was meant for the OVP while P150 million was allocated to DepEd.
It was during the second day of the Senate’s plenary debates on the proposed 2024 budget on Thursday that the OVP’s statement was read out by Angara, officially taking out the request for confidential and intelligence funds in the requested budget of the OVP.
Full Story at: After Congress pushback, Sara withdraws confidential funds request | Philstar.com
Ex-SC spokesman clarifies role in surgeon’s conviction | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former Supreme Court (SC) spokesman Theodore Te yesterday clarified that while he initially worked on the case of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Benigno Agbayani Jr., he was not the one who saw it through to the end.
In a text message sent to The STAR, Te said he was not the lawyer who handled the case during trial.
“I worked on (Agbayani’s) case at the start but had to refer it to my former law partners when I left for master’s and later when I joined the SC,” he said.
Agbayani’s relative earlier told The STAR that the doctor’s former lawyer was Te. However, Te said that information is what the doctor’s family and supporters would know “because the case records are with them.”
Te took issue with being named as Agbayani’s previous lawyer, saying it was “implied I was responsible and negligent.”
“Many of my friends asked me because that was precisely how they read it. So that needs to be addressed by an apology at the very least for the implication. There’s a big difference between initially being the lawyer and being the lawyer who handled the case when it ended,” he said.
On May 25, Agbayani was arrested and sent to the Manila City Jail, where the 58-year-old doctor died of a heart attack on Oct. 5.
His conviction stems from a 2006 case filed by lawyer Saul Hofileña Jr., who complained that the tool Agbayani used during surgery on his knee was unsterilized, resulting in an infection. Hofileña recovered from the surgery, court records showed.
Full Story at: Ex-SC spokesman clarifies role in surgeon’s conviction | Philstar.com
Castro says VP Sara decides to drop secret funds because of backlash | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The only reason why Vice President Sara Duterte no longer pushes for the allocation of confidential funds (CF) under her office is because people have reacted violently to it, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro claimed on Thursday.
Castro in a statement insisted that the Office of the Vice President should really have no CFs in the first place, because investigating and surveillance are not part of Duterte’s mandate.
“Di naman talaga mandato ng opisina ng bise-presidente na magkaroon ng confidential at intelligence funds kaya walang karapatan magkaroon ang mga opisina niya ng ganito,” Castro said.
(It is not really the mandate of the Office of the Vice President to have confidential and intelligence funds, that’s why her office does not have the right to these funds.)
“Kaya lang naman naglabas ng ganitong pahayag ang OVP dahil nalantad na sa publiko ang pang-aabuso sa confidential fund kaya dapat pa din tayong maging mapagbantay at tutulan ito. Dapat na talagang iabolish ang confidential funds,” she added.
(The reason why the OVP is giving out this statement is because it was revealed to the public how confidential funds are being abused, that’s why we should really monitor this issue and oppose it. We should really abolish the confidential funds.)
Full Story at: Castro: Sara decides to drop secret funds is because of backlash (inquirer.net)
Curbs sought on Marcos’ P13-B contingent funds | INQUIRER.NET – Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday moved to amend a special provision in the Office of the President’s (OP) request for P13 billion in contingent funds for next year to explicitly prohibit the executive branch from transferring the allotment as confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) of other government offices.
At the start of the Senate plenary budget debates, Hontiveros reiterated that the contingent funds of the OP in the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024 should not be spent for the confidential expenses of civilian state agencies.
She pointed out that this was done in December 2022 when P125 million from the OP’s allocation was converted as confidential funds of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The opposition senator made the proposal a day after a group of economic and legal experts petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the fund transfer unconstitutional and to direct the concerned government officials to return the money to the state coffers.
Full Story at: Curbs sought on Marcos’ P13-B contingent funds | Inquirer News
