Sara Duterte cries foul vs 'spoiled brat' tag

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, September 9, defended her stonewalling of the the House appropriations committee's budget deliberations for the Office of the Vice President, arguing that lawmakers who faced her were simply not used to "tough responses."

In a video sent to the media, Duterte said she wanted to forego the question-and-answer portion of the OVP's budget hearing on August 27 because "certain lawmakers" were using the opportunity to launch political attacks against her – an accusation the vice president has repeatedly flung at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.  

A day before the House appropriations panel resumes the budget hearing for her office, OVP staff sent the media a video interview of Duterte where she justified her refusal to answer key questions about the OVP's expenditures and proposed 2025 budget. The OVP said the interview was conducted on September 4 but "no further details" were given on the identity of the person interviewing Duterte. 

In the interview, Duterte bristled at being tagged a "spoiled brat" and insisted that her attendance in the budget hearings was proof that she was not avoiding accountability over how she spends public funds.

Duterte's statements in the video are the first time she has directly addressed her conduct in the controversial August 27 hearing at the House, clips of which have widely circulated on social media. 

"I am used to that, and the public knows that I am not a ‘bratinella’ or spoiled brat because they have known me since I was in Davao, from when I was mayor until I became Vice President," Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino. "The public knows that I do not abuse my power and authority in all the offices I have held. The entire nation is my witness that I am not a spoiled brat."

Duterte said that her testy exchange with lawmakers on August 27 — the first time that the House appropriations panel deferred Duterte's budget and kept it from reaching plenary — was caused by lawmakers "not getting the answers they want to hear." 

"They are also not used to being answered back in their own critiques. So I believe this is also a kind of