Latest news with #Acidre
GMA Network
02-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Lawmaker: Confidential funds should be regulated, not banned
"We cannot judge a fund based on people who abused it," Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said in a House press conference on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. The allocation of confidential funds to government agencies as well as local government units should be regulated, not banned, Tingog party-list Representative Jude Acidre said Wednesday. Acidre made the response when asked if the LGUs should still be allocated confidential funds in light of former vice president and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo's announcement that she will remove confidential funds from the city's budget to ensure proper spending of public funds. Robredo's lead was followed by Dumanjug, Cebu Mayor Gungun Gica, who said, 'Effective immediately, no more confidential funds for LGU Dumanjug. Public funds must serve the people—openly, clearly, and with integrity.' Acidre, however, said any fund allocation, including confidential funds, should stand on merits. 'We cannot judge a fund based on people who abused it. We must also be able to ascertain the usefulness of certain mechanisms with the merits, with the good that they are able to do. And the same is the case with confidential funds,' he said in a press conference. 'There are LGUs wherein confidential fund allocation is of significant help, especially if there are security threats involved. We cannot do a one-size-fits-all policy for all our LGUs.' Rather than prohibition, Acidre said, strict regulations should be in place to ensure that the disbursement of confidential fund is above board. He cited bills filed during the 19th Congress—in the aftermath of the House inquiry into the confidential fund use of Vice President Sara Duterte, including during her tenure as Education Secretary—requiring the disclosure of audit findings on confidential funds once flagged by state auditors, and limiting the allocation and disbursement of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF). 'The joint memorandum circular [on confidential fund use] should be passed into law, and we need legislation focusing on the accountability of special disbursement officers, including provision for their qualifications and the fidelity fund for those who have custody of confidential funds,' Acidre said. 'We saw regulatory gaps that we need to fix during the House inquiry, and we need to address that. For one, state auditors should have enough oversight [pero] hindi naman po natin pwedeng alisin totally ang [but we cannot totally remove] confidential funds, especially in some municipalities or LGUs, or even agencies of government where its use is based on merit and in related to ensuring public order and safety, including anti-insurgency measures,' he added. Duterte is facing an impeachment complaint accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes, mainly over alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds. Prior to the filing of the impeachment complaint, the House good government and public accountability panel inquiry revealed that the Office of the Vice President Duterte and DepEd submitted acknowledgment receipts riddled with wrong dates, signatories with no birth records, unnamed signatories and non-readable names of signatories before the Commission of Audit (COA) to justify the disbursement of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
13-06-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Ortega says House must comply with order of impeachment court
House Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega of La Union said the House should comply with the order of the Senate impeachment court, but not just yet, as the 20th Congress still does not exist. The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday night voted to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives and asked for a certification that it didn't violate the one-year ban on subsequent impeachment complaints and from the House in the 20th Congress, that it was interested in pursuing the case. 'Siguro, we will deal with that when we get to the 20th Congress. Kasi siyempre mag-iiba yung roster natin. Although 80+% naman ng Congress is coming still from the 19th Congress," Ortega told reporters. "Well, dapat pa ring mag-comply kasi impeachment court din yung nagbigay ng order na yon,' he added. House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Jude Acidre of Tingog Partylist saw no need to do so. 'I don't think there is a need for that, di ba? I think the Articles of Impeachment itself is already the certification that they need," Acidre said. "And that based on the jurisprudence and actual practice that we have, the articles of impeachment enjoy presumption of regularity unless there is evidence that should have been presented, not by the judges themselves, presented by the defense lawyers,' he added. 'I cannot even understand why a certification is far more important, far more stronger than the actual paper that has my signature that I signed under oath and that we voted upon with more than 200 members of Congress,' Acidre added. House Deputy Minority Leader Rep France Castro of ACT Teachers Partylist says the Senate Impeachment Court's order recognizes that the impeachment proceedings can cross over from the current 19th Congress to the 20th Congress. 'Yung paghingi ng certification ng Senado para sa 20th Congress ay parang pagkilala na ito na tatawid ito sa 20th Congress,' Castro told reporters. ML Partylist representative-elect Leila de Lima, who is expected to join the House Prosecution Panel in the 20th Congress, said the Senate impeachment court's order was 'unnecessary.' 'Such a certification by the 20th Congress is unnecessary. All the 20th Congress has to do is to reappoint the House prosecution managers to renew their authority and let them deal with the Senate as an impeachment court, instead of the House as a body directly dealing with the impeachment court," De Lima told GMA Integrated News. "That's already the job of the House prosecutors,' she added. Several legislators who supported the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte assured their position will remain the same in the 20th Congress. 'We've been very consistent that accountability forms a very important part in governance. Hindi naman pwede natin ipasawalang bahala. We cannot sweep under the rug an accusation, findings such as this,' Acidre said. 'I affirm naman yung stand ko doon. I need to see it through. Sabi ko nga, the Senate must try. Wala silang choice kundi mag-try,' Ortega said. ACT Teachers Partylist representative-elect Antonio Tinio, who was a complainant in the second impeachment complaint filed against Sara Duterte, wants to see the impeachment trial proceed. 'Kung kinakailangan ay boboto tayo para matuloy. I mean, of course, ang fundamental position natin, bago ako maging kongresista, isa ako sa mga nag-file ng complaint," Tinio said. "So, consistent with that, gagawin natin ang lahat para magtuloy-tuloy hanggang sa mapanagot si VP Sara sa issue ng confidential funds at iba pa,' he added. The House members called on the public to voice their support to the impeachment proceedings. 'Importante pa rin talaga na yung taumbayan ay patuloy na magbantay. We cannot let our guard down. Dahil yan lang naman ang kinatatakutan in the end, whether ng Senate or ng House - malinaw na pinaririnig ng publiko na gusto nila matuloy ang trial at magkaroon ng accountability,' Tinio said. "Kaya ito din yung challenge namin sa taumbayan. Kung meron kayong linya sa inyong mga kongresista, kaibigan nyo sila, o pwede nyo silang makausap, sulatan nyo sila, makipagdaupang palad kayo, ating ipaalam sa ating mga kongresista na una, nagmamatyag tayo. Pangalawa, na kakampin natin sila at hindi sila nag-iisa sa issue na ito,' Acidre said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
