October 7, 2025 – Manila, Philippines
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio has accused Vice President Sara Duterte and her camp of using the Cebu earthquake as a justification for her absence during the House of Representatives’ budget deliberations, claiming she never intended to attend in the first place.
In an ambush interview on Thursday, October 2, Tinio said that while Duterte was indeed in Cebu for supposed relief operations following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake, her decision to skip the hearing had been deliberate. He explained that Duterte had set conditions for her attendance — conditions that were beyond Congress’s authority to grant.
“Her office and her supporters are spreading the narrative that she missed the budget hearing because she went to Cebu to help earthquake victims. That’s true, she’s there — but the truth is, she never planned to attend the deliberations because she imposed conditions that Congress cannot meet,” Tinio said.
Tinio alleged that among Duterte’s demands was the lifting of the immigration lookout bulletin order against her staff allegedly linked to the controversy involving unexplained confidential funds. “She’s using the Cebu earthquake as a convenient excuse,” Tinio added.
The plenary debates on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2026 budget were initially scheduled for September 30, but discussions were deferred after Duterte failed to assign an undersecretary-level official to assist the budget sponsor. Coincidentally, the Cebu earthquake struck later that evening.
Despite the hearings being reset to October 1 and 2, Duterte again did not appear and did not send an authorized representative. Instead, Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez, the OVP budget sponsor, read several letters from Duterte designating Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio as officer-in-charge and listing her preconditions for attending the session.
Among these demands was the request for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to personally attend the House session to defend the Office of the President’s budget, along with the lifting of immigration restrictions on her staff.
Due to Duterte’s continued absence, the House was forced to terminate the period of sponsorship and debate on House Bill No. 4058, or the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), without addressing the OVP’s budget in plenary.
Tinio denounced Duterte’s actions as “unprecedented,” saying:
“Who sets conditions before appearing before Congress to explain how they intend to spend public funds?”
In response to Duterte’s absence, Tinio announced plans to propose a drastic reduction in the OVP’s budget—from ₱902 million to ₱198 million, which only covers personnel services or employee salaries.
Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima also criticized Duterte’s no-show, revealing that she initially considered proposing a zero budget for the OVP but decided to maintain funds for its employees. “We will identify which items in the MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) can be retained, but the total will be significantly less than the ₱902 million requested,” she said.
As of press time, the Office of the Vice President has not issued an official statement regarding Tinio’s allegations.