Marcoleta: Congressional probe on confi funds should cover other agencies

Congressional inquiries on confidential funds should also cover other government agencies, Sagip party-list lawmaker and Senate bet Rodante Marcoleta said Wednesday.

Marcoleta made the response when asked about his position on the House good government and public accountability probe on the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s tenure as Education chief.

"I am not in favor of that [the Vice President being singled out] because the public would think that the probe is just being done out of politicking, that we [in Congress] are taking it personal,” Marcoleta told Super Radyo dzBB’s Ikaw Na Ba? Senatorial Interviews.

“There are other government offices with confidential fund, why single out a certain office?... Kapag isa lang ang tinarget mo at alam naman natin na ang tinarget mo ay kalaban sa politika, sapagkat iyong presidential election [ay] nandiyan na sa horizon, mag-iisip ang taong bayan na politika lang ito,” Marcoleta added.

(If you are just targeting one person, and we all know who that is since the presidential elections loom, then the public will think this is just politicking.)

Marcoleta also emphasized that the scrutiny of the confidential fund allocation of agencies should be left to the Commission on Audit and not lawmakers.

“Maybe we are usurping the very authority and mandate of the Commission on Audit,” Marcoleta said.

Marcoleta is running for senator in the May 2025 polls as an independent candidate. 

—VAL, GMA Integrated News