Sara wins

To play or not to play with traditional politicians: this is the question that Vice President Inday Sara Duterte answered from the onset of the House of Representatives budget hearing of her office, the Office of the Vice President (OVP). 

“I would like to forgo the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format. I will leave it up to the House to decide on the budget submitted.” We heard this countless times when a brave VP Sara answered questions of close to 20 lawmakers that lasted for five hours last Aug. 27. Suddenly, the long-standing tradition of the House to extend parliamentary courtesy to the second highest official of the land had flown out of the window.

OVP budget deliberations had always been smooth sailing – not until Aug. 27 when we saw VP Sara in her lonesome sparring with the powerful House committee on appropriations. In 2017, the office budget of then vice president Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo was approved in just two minutes. In the case of former vice president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, five minutes was it all it took to approve his 2014 office budget.

On Sept. 10, during the second round of House deliberation on the OVP budget, VP Sara was a no-show, saying that the OVP had submitted the necessary documents and previously articulated position on issues regarding its budget. 

VP Sara explained her snub with the House panel in a two-part video shared by OVP with the media.

“Ang budget ng Pilipinas ay hawak lang ng dalawang tao. Hawak lang sya ni Cong. Zaldy Co at ni Cong. Martin Romualdez. ‘Yan ang katotohanan.”

This is the first time a strongly-worded statement was made saying that the Speaker and the chair of the committee on appropriations are brazenly controlling and manipulating government’s budget.

VP Sara, again, was absent during the House plenary debate last Monday, Sept. 23.

These instances prompted the House of Representatives to slash the OVP proposed budget of over P2 billion to P733 million, or a 70 percent cut from the original budget proposal.

In a statement, Speaker Romualdez said it would be unproductive to give the OVP a zero budget, as demanded by some legislators, and decided to give a budget that is near to what former VP Leni received. 

We can see here that the winner in this latest political saga is VP Sara.

First, VP Sara could have chosen an easier way out: to play with the traditional politicians. But she did not take the bait. She refused to bow down to political pressure and was true to her political core, notwithstanding that she was at the center of a political storm in Congress. VP Sara in previous media interviews made clear her position that her office will make do with whatever funding is allocated to it under the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Our countrymen saw how VP Sara stood by her principle and our people loved what they have seen. “I am who I am” is the message VP Sara conveyed and echoed in the entire archipelago, notwithstanding the political harassment she and her family have been receiving. Having said this, I expect a further uptick in the VP’s next quarter’s survey ratings. 

Second, VP Sara exposed Rep. Romualdez and Rep. Co’s blatant maneuvering of the national budget, making Congress their personal fiefdom where political horse-trading thrives. It showed the real power behind the throne. 

Third, contrary to the “bratinella to the max” tag of Rep. Castro to VP Sara, many of the current lawmakers in the Lower Chamber have been exposed as the real brats whose success is defined by their inexplicable wealth, evident in their designer bags, expensive watches and cars amid their constituents’ poverty and hunger. Compare some of the ladies of the House’s Filipiniana ternos during the budget hearing with VP Sara’s Shopee or Lazada-bought OOTD. 

In this connection, I was disheartened upon learning two recent events. One, on the news that 43 students and seven teachers got injured when a hanging bridge collapsed in Nueva Vizcaya; and two, a boat carrying over 20 children capsized in Pampanga.

While no one perished in both accidents, our lawmakers should prioritize their constituents’ needs and fulfill their sworn duties to serve the Filipino people. 

Fourth, the young guns have been outed as young goons. How dare a party-list lawmaker ask VP Sara to step down when his party-list, Ako Bikol, got only 811,645 total votes while VP Sara got 32,208,417 total votes. 

This shift to resignation, by the way, is an obvious acknowledgment that congressmen lack sufficient evidence to impeach the Vice President.

Fifth, the charade of the so-called political opposition has been unmasked. It is only in the Philippines where a mere spare tire, the Vice President, is being targeted by a demolition job, while there are no qualms about the abuses and excesses of the administration. There was so much hullabaloo with VP Sara’s defense of the P10-million publication of the “Isang Kaibigan” book that will benefit 200,000 students while nary a peep when the President, through a statement from his Communications Secretary, openly violated the law and admitted accepting a P60-million gift (in the form of professional fees) when the 1980s band Duran Duran performed in his super exclusive “strictly-by-invitation-only” birthday party.

The same goes with VP Sara’s latest meeting with former VP Leni. So much content has been created with the visit of the current VP to the Naga residence of her immediate predecessor. 

Fortunately, both female leaders exuded so much class and dignity. They kept their conversation private therefore not contributing to the political noise. Let us leave it at that and respect their decision.