After Congress got her intelligence funds away, someone says Vice president Sara Duterte probably came to her father to ask her to defend her. She, or probably her advisers thought that with Mr. Duterte still getting glowing survey rates, his political clout would be enough to convince the public of the rationale and the morality of her request for 500 million or 125 million intelligence funds. Well, the numbers reflect otherwise.
Former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte says the reason why his daughter, Vice president Sara Duterte wants 500 million pesos is to soft launch the Reserve Officers Training Corps (R.O.T.C.), a military training program for college students which was suspended or entirely scrapped by Congress yet, being revived by several lawmakers in Congress and the Senate. He says that Sara has well meaning intentions due to her desire to eliminate Communism. He even alluded undertaking “killing” of friends, whom he identified as Satur Ocampo, former National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant.
Well, I don’t know with you, but with Duterte as a friend, may actually be something which no one would even consider. Imagine, our former president thinking of killing his so-called friends just because of differences in ideological beliefs, wow. Talk about a friend, this friend is akin to a scavenger animal who will eat anybody including probably his son or mother.
What Mr. Duterte failed to say is what kind of soft launching is needed that the Department of Education would probably do. The ROTC, for one, is not under the management of the Deped–it is a program of the Department of Defense (DoD), a position which Sara initially asked but never given by her ally, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Junior. Unless otherwise re-designed or modified by Congress, the ROTC would stay with the DND.
So, what is this that Mr. Duterte is talking about? How would the Deped soft launch something which the department is not constitutionally mandated to manage? How would the deped use these monies? Funding a killing spree of students suspected of being activists? Killing professors who profess to believe in Communism or Socialism? Even if they plan to do so, sadly, the Deped is not in the position to accomplish these things because its mandate is to increase literary and knowledge rates of students.
So, whatever “palusot” or “alibi” Mr. Duterte gives, there’s simply no way for Congress or for anybody for that matter, to justify giving Deped intelligence funds for some sort of proposed activities that are beyond the constitutionally established scope of its responsibilities? Instead of counter insurgency functions, why not concentrate on enhancing our educational system which faces innumerable problems and issues.
Therefore, Mr. Duterte is definitely off-line on this. As one vendor says, ” kapag kaperahan nga naman…”
