Is Vice President Sara Duterte the new opposition leader? According to Speaker Martin Romualdez, that announcement should come directly from her, not from former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
“I guess that’s Mr. Harry Roque’s statement, but I guess we’ll have to just hear it from the VP if and when the time comes for her to make statements or to make any policy or statements on policies of the national government,” Romualdez said during a press conference. Romualdez, who served as Vice President Duterte’s campaign manager in the 2022 elections, emphasized that any such declaration should come from Duterte herself.
Despite the political speculations, Romualdez expressed his well-wishes for the Vice President. “I think this was her personal decision and I really respect the decision. Obviously, we miss the closer interactions that we had during the campaign. But nonetheless, there’s politics and there’s personal matters and we only wish the Vice President nothing but the best,” he said.
Romualdez added, “And we wish her the best of luck in all the endeavors and in her service to the Filipino people.”
The speculation about Vice President Duterte’s potential role as an opposition leader follows her remarks last year, where she criticized those against confidential funds as enemies of the state. This came after the Romualdez-led House realigned over P1 billion worth of confidential funds, including P500 million from the Office of the Vice President, to agencies directly responsible for national security.
The House’s decision came after the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed during the proposed 2024 budget deliberations that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent P125 million in confidential funds within 11 days in December 2022, despite the 2022 national budget not allocating funds for such expenses.
Since then, Vice President Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has criticized Romualdez and his cousin, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Vice President Duterte previously stated that she resigned as Education Secretary and vice chairperson of the government’s anti-insurgency task force for the greater good.