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We have seen our share of political dramas in our lifetime, but Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent actions—laced with reckless threats and melodrama—take the cake. Perhaps from Mary Grace?
Lawyer Sara admitted to the criminal act of contracting a hitman for President Bongbong Marcos and his family. This, during a semi-siege at the Batasan Pambansa in defense of her chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez. What have these antics exposed? Not just her disregard for decorum, but more significantly, her desperate attempts to deflect scrutiny from her office’s questionable spending of confidential funds. Her unravelling traces its roots to the unresolved issue of how her Office of the Vice President (OVP) expended P125 million in confidential funds daily in many areas in one day.
Public outcry has centered on the flagrant lack of transparency and accountability in this robbery -like operation. The audacious speed and secrecy with which the funds—our money as taxpayers—were withdrawn, disbursed, and liquidated. The fast and furious maneuvers deserve at least one break to snack on Piattos. In this case, there’s no rest for the wicked.
Many veteran career officials found the process alarming in its deviation from standard protocols. Duterte and her trusted inner circle, including Lopez, have offered little to assuage the people’s concerns. Instead, they have chosen the path of “bratinella” defiance and obfuscation.
The brazenness of these transactions mirrors scenes from a crime thriller. Yet, this is no fictional “Money Heist”—it is a real-life plundering of public funds, a betrayal of trust by an office that not so long ago exemplified integrity.
At its core, this is not about Duterte’s politics or her disagreements with the administration. It is about the audacious misuse of power and money meant for the Filipino people.
