The Opposition Is Calling for Accountability over the CF Issue Involving the OVP
The opposition is visibly just doing its job in questioning the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
One of the heated topics in the Philippines political arena now is the Confidential Funds of the OVP under the watch of Vice President Sara Duterte. It is still a huge question on how P125 million was spent in just 19 days and how the OVP has such huge CF considering its mandate.
The Confidential Fund was designed to fund the activities and projects relevant to national security and peace and order. It was a product of the joint circular between the the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of National Defense (DND), and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG).
Senator Risa Hontiveros previously pointed out that the OVP had bigger CF compared to the budget set for the the Department of National Defense and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the two (2) agencies whose mandate are the most in line with the purpose of the CF.
Not only Sen. Hontiveros but several lawmakers and popular entities in the Philippine government questioned the CF of the OVP. Countless Filipinos starve for explanations from the OVP.
Recently, Sen. Bato dela Rosa questioned the opposition’s treatment over the OVP’s Confidential Fund issue. According to the former Chief of the Philippine National Police during the term of Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, during the term of former Vice Pres. Leni Robredo’s term, the opposition was silent and did not dig deep on the issue.
Sen. Dela Rosa believes that there is some sort of “politicking” in the moves to question the OVP. He also claimed that some of the people who question the controversial CF were people who will be affected if the Vice President runs for the presidency in the next election.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros stressed that no one questioned former Vice Pres. Leni Robredo‘s Confidential Funds because she did not have a CF.
I believe that the opposition and several other authorities are only doing what they should be doing. The money allotted for the CFs of the different government offices is a public fund — anyone who spends it must be accountable.
Questioning the offices with CFs is a part of the checking on how the funds were used. If they can clearly explain it to the authorities, then there is no problem, right? It does not have to be controversial unless there are blurry circumstances surrounding the issue.
If the opposition will not do its job, who else will? I believe this is not about who is in the position. This issue is a call for accountability whether or not the issue will promote or negatively affect the image of one person.
Thank you for visiting Philnews.ph. You may also follow us on Facebook, on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel Philnews Ph.
Disclaimer: The content of the article posted above is an opinion of the writer. Also, the citations provided are based on the information deemed as facts by the different legit sources that contribute to the basis of the making of the whole viewpoint. The writer does not, in any form, intend to create inaccurate understanding of the topic or influence the readers instead, express one’s viewpoint in a formal manner.
