A Filipino poet wrote a composition referencing the Office of the Vice President (OVP)‘s spending of confidential funds, which garnered controversy.
Kit Ruiz or Kit, author of the poetry collection “Maliliit na Bagay,” uploaded his writing on Facebook on September 27.
“Sh*t. Paano naubos ni Sara sa loob ng 11 days ang perang kikitain mo sa loob ng 517 years?” his post reads.
Ruiz’s post has since garnered 71,000 reactions, 4,300 comments and 22,000 shares on Facebook as of writing.
RELATED: ‘The Kit’: Duterte’s ramblings at COVID-19 press conference are now creative poems | ‘The Kit,’ poem born out of Duterte’s ramblings in speech, marks 1st year anniversary
In the comments section, several Filipinos joked about “Sara,” whose name was mentioned in the poem, keeping the spending process “confidential.”
“Hindi niya sasagutin ang mga tanong kasi confidential,” a Facebook user said.
“They cannot disclose how. It’s confidential,” another Facebook user joked.
“We can’t tell. Confidential nga di ba,” another user commented.
Other Facebook users also made speculations on where the money went.
Ruiz shared this composition on his Facebook account after Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo stated that the OVP supposedly spent P125 million worth of confidential funds in 11 days.
Quimbo said this during the 2024 national budget deliberations on September 25.
“Ang totoo po ay nagulat din po ako nung mabasa ko ang mga balita na tila nagastos po sa loob ng 19 days [the confidential fund] at tinanong ko po ang COA (Commission on Audit) at tiningnan ko po ang mga iba’t ibang mga reports pero hindi po ito nagastos sa loob ng 19 days kung hindi 11 days po,” the lawmaker said.
The OVP last week clarified that it spent its P125 million confidential funds in 2022 within 19 days.
“To say that the Office of the Vice President spent the confidential fund in 11 days, the office submits its stand that it is inaccurate,” Davao de Oro 1st district Rep. Ma. Carmen Zamora, who sponsored the OVP’s budget before the House of Representatives plenary, said.
“The implementation of the programs started on the day that the SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) was released on December 13 of 2022. Which means, after immediately the release of SARO the implementation has already started,” she added.
READ: OVP spent P125 million confidential funds in 11 days
Aside from mentions of “Sara” and “11 days,” no other details about this issue are mentioned in Ruiz’s piece.
Quimbo’s revelation on the OVP drew widespread backlash on social media with people saying the money came from their taxes.
Several Filipinos also demanded that the national government disclose the specific projects, initiatives and other expenses where the amount was spent.
On September 27, the House of Representatives declared that Duterte’s sought-after allocation would be realigned to other government agencies related to defending the country’s interest in the West Philippine Sea.
READ: House strips Sara of confidential fund
