“Here’s my take on the legal and political schism between Romualdez and Duterte.”
(First of two parts)
Once political allies, now locked in a high-stakes feud, Vice President Sara Duterte and House Speaker Martin Romualdez are sparring for nothing less than the presidency. Their public exchanges are laced with veiled accusations, setting the stage for what could become the defining power struggle of a generation. As the tension escalates, so do the questions: who will survive this political battlefield, and what will be left in their wake?
Nearly a year ago, simmering tensions between Duterte and Romualdez led to a political break-up, but the feud has recently heated up. Now, with Duterte leveling fresh allegations of budget manipulation and Romualdez firing back with accusations of hypocrisy, the two seem to be locked in a battle that blends personal vendetta with legal warfare. Both political figures are caught in a web of legal challenges, ranging from budget mismanagement to corruption allegations, further muddying the waters.
The legal quagmire: Sara Duterte
Sara Duterte, once an untouchable figure in Philippine politics, now faces mounting legal scrutiny. Her tenure as Vice President, and former Education Secretary, has been marred by accusations of misusing confidential funds and failing to provide transparency in how public money was spent. The Commission on Audit (COA) recently issued a disallowance on P73.2 million of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) P125 million confidential funds for 2022, flagging them as “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable.” Duterte’s refusal to clarify these expenditures has only deepened suspicions, and the specter of graft charges looms large.
Her troubles extend back to her time as the head of the Department of Education (DepEd). COA reports have highlighted the underutilization of billions of pesos allocated for critical educational programs.
Billions intended for computerization and learning tools languished unspent, even as the agency displayed almost perfect efficiency in spending its P125 million in confidential funds. Compounding these issues is the failed school feeding program, where rotting and insect-infested food raised questions about Duterte’s oversight.
While Duterte has denied wrongdoing, her evasiveness has only fueled speculation that there is more than meets the eye. Her critics, buoyed by COA’s findings, argue that these controversies reveal a disturbing pattern of mismanagement and possibly corruption.
Allegations against Romualdez
But Sara Duterte is not the only one entangled in allegations. If her legal troubles are significant, those facing Martin Romualdez may be equally perilous. He, too, is under the spotlight—thanks to Duterte’s explosive accusations that Romualdez, alongside Appropriations Committee Chair Zaldy Co, manipulated the national budget for personal gain.
Duterte has publicly accused Romualdez of adding billions to the Department of Education’s budget for classroom construction, funds she claims were not authorized or controlled by her department during her time as Education Secretary. In one instance, she pointed to a P10 billion increase in the 2023 DepEd budget and a similar P5 billion adjustment in 2024, suggesting that Romualdez and Co overstepped their authority to control the funds and potentially channel them to favored regions. The implication is clear: Romualdez’s grip on the purse strings of the national budget allegedly serves personal or political interests, overriding standard government protocols.
Romualdez, however, has staunchly denied these claims, framing them as a deflection tactic. In a fiery speech during the 2025 General Appropriations Bill deliberations, he railed against “those who have their own sins” but “point fingers at others,” clearly alluding to Duterte without naming her. He emphasized that Congress would not tolerate hypocrisy or the misuse of public funds. Yet, his rhetoric has done little to quiet the whispers that something is indeed amiss in the way budget allocations are being managed. (to be continued)
