Sara, Risa trade barbs over P10 million children’s books

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte had a heated exchange with Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday during the Senate finance committee’s public hearing on the P2.037-billion budget requested by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025.

During the hearing of the panel chaired by Sen. Grace Poe, Hontiveros asked Duterte about the P10-million allocation for a book titled “Isang Kaibigan” and bearing Duterte’s name, to be distributed by the OVP for children in public schools.

“Can you tell me about this book? Hontiveros asked.

Instead of detailing the content of the book, Duterte said the senator’s questions were just another type of politicking over the OVP’s funds.

Duterte then recalled Hontiveros’ pronouncement at the Akbayan Congress that her father former president Rodrigo Duterte made a lot of mess that was difficult to clean up.

Reading from her mobile phone, the Vice President quoted Hontiveros as saying, “The darkness during his time has really eaten away at our society to the point that it is very difficult to remove it and while his daughter still has power, our fight will not be easy. While VP Sara is in power, the threat of a full-blown Duterte comeback is still a very real and present danger.”

Hontiveros retorted that Duterte’s statement had nothing to do with the committee discussing the P2.037-billion fund proposal of the OVP for next year.

“So I really take exception to what the Vice President said, that that is a rebuttal because it is an example of politicizing... I am asking about the country’s national budget that we will pass to Congress in 2025,” Hontiveros said.

“My only question was how many books will be bought and distributed and … if the Vice President could tell us more about the contents of this book,” she added.

Duterte insisted that the book is not “for sale.”

“We will send Senator Hontiveros a copy so that she will know what the content of the book is,” she added.

The Vice President reiterated that the question was another form of politicking in the middle of the budget hearing of the OVP.

“(Hontiveros’) problem is that my name is written there in the book, and we will give that book to the