MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its attached agencies earned praises from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino 鈥淜oko鈥� Pimentel III on Wednesday for responding to non-budget-related issues.
鈥淜ita mo naman itong ating hearing dito sa Senado sa budget, kahit na hindi about the budget specifically e sumasagot ang ating mga resource persons,鈥� Pimentel commented during the Senate subcommittee on finance鈥檚 hearing on the DOJ鈥檚 budget.
(You can see our budget hearing here in the Senate, even though it鈥檚 not specifically about the budget, our resource persons are still answering our questions)
鈥溾�橸an ang magandang interaction natin, 鈥榙i ba? Kahit hindi technically about your budget, e sagot pa rin kasi we need inputs e. Hindi naman namin alam lahat 鈥榶ang detalye ng budget ninyo,鈥� he added.
(That鈥檚 a good interaction, right? Even if it鈥檚 not technically about your budget, you still answer our questions because we need your input. We don鈥檛 know every detail of your budget.)
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla himself defended the DOJ鈥檚 proposed P40.585 billion budget for 2025.
Pimentel鈥檚 remark came just a day after Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 refusal to answer some of the questions raised during a budget hearing in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
READ: Duterte refuses to answer OVP budget questions, sparks House tension
At the start of the hearing of the House鈥檚 committee on appropriations, Duterte declared that she would 鈥渇orego the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format.鈥�
鈥淚 will leave it up to the House to decide on the budget submitted,鈥� she said.
So when ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro proceeded to ask about the Office of the Vice President鈥檚 (OVP) confidential allowance in 2022, Duterte protested and requested the committee鈥檚 rules on budget deliberations.
鈥淕usto mong sagutin ko, Ma鈥檃m? This is a hearing of the budget of 2025; nasaan dito ang confidential funds? Naasaan dito?鈥� Duterte asked.
(You want me to answer that, Ma鈥檃m? This is a hearing of the budget for 2025; where are the confidential funds here?)
The vice president even questioned why a 鈥減erson convicted of child abuse is still sitting in a seat in the House of Representatives.鈥�
Her remark was directed to Castro, who was among those convicted of child abuse charges by a Tagum City court in relation to the 2018 incident involving indigenous students in Mindanao.
READ:听Ocampo, Castro, 11 others convicted of child abuse听
Duterte also clashed with Sen. Risa Hontiveros when she defended the OVP鈥檚 budget last week in the Senate.
She even accused Hontiveros of 鈥減oliticizing鈥� the government鈥檚 funds after the senator asked about a P10 million budget tucked in the OVP鈥檚 budget proposal for the distribution of a children鈥檚 book that the vice president herself authored.
READ:听Duterte, Hontiveros clash over 鈥榩oliticizing鈥� budget hearings听