Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro has responded to Vice President Sara Duterte's statement regarding her plans to disclose how the confidential funds were utilized.
Lawmakers from the Makabayan Bloc challenged the Vice President to publicize the evidence and proof on where the ₱612.5 million confidential fund was spent after the alleged misuse of it by the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Members of the Makabayan Bloc have challenged the Vice President to provide evidence and details on how the ₱612.5 million confidential fund was spent. ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Representative Renee Co have called for accountability from Duterte. Tinio emphasized, “To Vice President Sara, once again, what are you waiting for? Ilabas mo na ‘yong sinasabi mong depensa at ebidensya mo.”
“Kailangang marinig ng sambayanan ang sagot, anong ginawa mo sa condential funds?” Tinio added.
While at an event in Davao, Duterte responded, saying that she and her team would address all accusations in a “proper forum.”
“Doon sa mga tamang forum at tamang venue, nagbibigay kami ng saktong sagot at nagbibigay kami... ng explanation ng mga accusations,” the Vice President said.
In response to Duterte's remarks, the Palace expressed that such explanations should have been provided earlier, particularly before the Commission on Audit (COA) issued its notice of disallowance.
“Noon pa po niya dapat ginawa, noon palang dapat nalinis na po sa COA palang. Bago pa nagkaron ng notice of disallowance dapat ay naipaliwanag na ng maayos,” PCO Castro said.
She also added that if this had been explained properly, then we might not be facing impeachment proceedings now.
Castro also highlighted that even the Vice President's staff might not be aware of how the confidential funds were allocated.
Meanwhile, the OVP Spokesperson Atty. Ruth Castelo said that there are no confidential funds for the fiscal year of 2026 for the said office.
