The head of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority urged Vice President Sara Duterte to finance the publication of her book from her own resources instead of requesting P10 million in government funds in the 2025 budget.
“This is her story. Why doesn’t she use her own money to publish her book instead?” CEZA administrator Katrina Ponce Enrile said in an interview during the “Leslie Bocobo Live” program aired on Radyo Pilipinas.
Enrile said applications for public funds under the General Appropriation Act must be subject to careful scrutiny and deliberation.
“As government officials, we must lead by example… Even when funds have been allocated, they remain subject to scrutiny,” she said.
“It is the prerogative of senators to ask questions, especially when it involves people’s money. This (book publication) involves public funds, so why should it not be subject to scrutiny?” Enrile added.
On Tuesday, Duterte clashed with Senator Risa Hontiveros over the allocation of ten million pesos in the budget for the production and distribution of “Isang Kaibigan,” a children’s book by the Vice President.
The dispute erupted amid ongoing deliberations on the P2.037 billion budget of the Office of the Vice President for 2025.
“Their problem is that my name is on the book that is being distributed to children. And those children have parents who are voters. And my name will be spread everywhere those books go,” Duterte said, insisting that the senator’s concerns were politically motivated.
Hontiveros, however, insisted that her investigation was legitimate and solely in line with her duties as a legislator.
“I don’t understand the attitude of our interlocutor. It’s a simple question. She keeps saying it’s politicization. The vice president mentioned the word vote. I never said anything about voting. I’m just asking. I can’t imagine that we are making so much trouble and fuss over a matter of 10 million pesos,” the senator said.
“Simple question: Tell us more about the book. How many copies will the government buy worth P10 million and distribute in bags to 1 million learners in remote communities? Just to clarify, these are public funds. And we are doing research. This is a budget hearing. This is not about you (Duterte).”
“As members of different parties, we all know that our speeches to our party members at party congresses are different from the budget debates. Therefore, I disagree with the vice president’s statement that this is an example of politicization,” Hontiveros added.
