Davao de Oro lawmaker defends House leadership

MANILA, Philippines — A ranking member of the House of Representatives has expressed full support for the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez in light of the criticisms former president Rodrigo Duterte issued about the realignment of his daughter’s confidential and intelligence funds.

Davao de Oro Rep. Maricar Zamora, vice chair of the House committee on appropriations, posted the support on her official Facebook page last Sunday as she complimented the chamber for its dedication to the needs and welfare of the people.

“I stand with the House of Representatives. With all the issues hurled against it, I expressed my full support and continued trust to my colleagues in Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez, and to all employees who continue to work, with or without the sessions, to ensure that government service is brought to every Filipino,” she said, mostly in Filipino, in her post.

Zamora is a member of Lakas-CMD and Davao’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago party, to which Vice President Sara Duterte belongs. She also defended the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Office of the Vice President (OVP), both headed by Duterte, during House deliberations on the 2024 national budget.

“Even if we are not perfect as an institution, I know the dedication of the 19th Congress in swiftly passing priority bills, thus speeding up the process of providing government service that would benefit many Filipinos. The institution that is constantly criticized is the same institution that spearheads in ensuring that the needed infrastructure, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges are built as well as provide funds for various social services, scholarship, medical assistance and other programs,” the post, also written in Filipino, continued.

The House recently realigned P1.23 billion in confidential funds, including that of the OVP and DepEd, which prompted ex-president Duterte to retaliate by saying the chamber has hidden “pork barrel” and is the most rotten institution in the country.

Zamora said that, in all her years of service, Congress has grown more accessible to ordinary people and that it is right for it to allocate the needed funds for each congressional district. She is now on her fourth term, after serving three consecutive terms from 2010 to 2019.

“This is why I want my constituents in Davao de Oro’s first district to understand that, with all these issues, the House of Representatives continues to work and strive to provide our promise of a better life. This is why I call on everyone to, instead of mudslinging and criticizing, unite and rally behind a New Philippines,” her post also read, referring to President Marcos’ Bagong Pilipinas campaign.

House leaders, in a statement signed and released by House secretary-general Reginald Velasco, also defended the institution from the former president’s attacks, saying the realignment of confidential funds was made for the benefit of the nation.

“It is essential to understand that this decision was made for the benefit of the nation and not as a personal affront to any individual, including Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio,” they said in the statement.

They added that the decision to realign confidential funds did not only affect the OVP and DepEd alone, but also that of the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and Information and Communications Technology.

The statement also said the leaders regretted that Duterte cast aspersions against the decisions of the House leadership borne out of his “personal vendetta” and that the criticism is a “disservice to the diligent members of the House of the People and the very essence of our democratic process.”

“It is critical to remember that the ‘pork barrel’ system, which former president Duterte alluded to, has been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Our members are firmly committed to respecting and upholding this ruling. Rather than making sweeping allegations in the media, we advise the former president, if he has tangible evidence of wrongdoing, to present it to the appropriate authorities,” the statement also reads.

Counterproductive

Deputy Majority Leader Franz Pumaren (Quezon City) also joined other House leaders in defending the institution from the former president’s attacks.

“We, as lawmakers duly elected by our respective constituents to represent their interests, do not respond well to threats and intimidation. If his (Rody Duterte) allegations have bases, then he should go to the proper channels and file charges,” Pumaren said. “But to insinuate bodily harm or even the murder of a member of the House, this has gone too far. We urge the former president to be cautious and reasonable in his criticisms.

“We implore the good former president to seek the path of peaceful resolution instead of engaging in making threats and intimidation. We should unite, not divides,” added Pumaren, a former PBA player and majority leader of the Quezon City Council.

Over the weekend, leaders of the supermajority coalition, about 280 members of the 311-man House, banded together to defend the institution from Duterte’s humiliating tirades, primarily on allegations of corruption.

In a joint statement, political party leaders lamented that Duterte maligned the “institution that for years supported many of his own legislative priorities.”

Duterte spoke ill of the lower chamber in a radio interview last week, defending his daughter Sara who refused to explain where her P125-million intelligence funds in 2022 went, after the House leadership realigned P650 million of her confidential funds.

The older Duterte was a member of the 11th Congress or from 1998 to 2001, representing the first district of Davao City. That Congress had impeached former president Joseph Estrada.

Rep. Zaldy Co (Ako Bicol party-list) also stood behind Romualdez, saying the chamber “is on the right side of history” under the latter’s watch.