Vice President Sara Duterte went to the budget hearing at the House of Representatives spoiling for a fight. Well, she got one.

Perhaps she was emboldened by the kid glove treatment she got at the Senate. The senators were generally deferential to the Vice President, and, except for Senator Risa Hontiveros, asked some of the most inconsequential questions I’ve heard in the years I’ve covered the beat as a reporter and as a staff writer for two senators. 

The Senate used to be hailed as the higher chamber, where erudite senators debated lofty ideas and urgent national issues. Of late, you just wonder what some of our esteemed solons are inhaling.

In general, the Vice President’s game plan for the House budget hearing can be summed up thus: ignore the questions, come out blazing, and establish dominance. 

Framing this game plan is the belief that, compared to the senators, members of the House are pushovers. Bully them and their offense collapses.

But this was a different House. While relations between the House of Representatives and the Dutertes have been acrimonious of late, the legislators accorded their guest due respect, as befits the second highest official of the land. They showed restraint and were polite. But clearly they will not be bullied. They asked inconvenient questions, which, in turn, unleashed a full beast mode response. Talk about poking the tiger from the south.

And the House members came well prepared. Through patience, perseverance, and restraint, they exposed to the public the depth of the Vice President’s thinking and rhetorical skills (not too deep). They unmasked her aversion to the light of transparency and the fresh air that comes from accountability, two unshakable and abiding principles of public governance. 

Clearly, the Vice President is not used to being held accountable for her official actions, even when she is asked politely by members of a co-equal branch. She is accustomed to being fawned over and pleased by underlings, with a city as kingdom and city hall as palace. The outsized sense of privilege and entitlement has led to a looseness and nonchalant generosity in the use of public funds. 

She was alternately catty and evasive when pressed to explain how her office managed to spend P125 million in confidential funds in 11 days, and the Notice of Disallowance from the Commission on Audit totaling P73 million. The Vice President and several OVP officials have been ordered by COA to settle the amount within six months.

And all throughout the hearing that lasted for more than five hours, the Vice President’s contempt for the legislators was evident in her demeanor and crude language. She uttered many off-tangent remarks, prompting the committee chair to remind her to be respectful, which was a way of indirectly calling her disrespectful and arrogant.

It would be foolhardy to think that, after her House appearance, the Vice President will see the light, and the reality of her declining trust levels, and return to the chamber contrite and humble. She is a Duterte, after all. 

For certain, she and her supporters will spend the next few days kicking the legislators in the nuts. She will be portrayed as nothing short of a martyr, entering the lion’s den and taming the felines with her personality.

What about her disdain for the sacred democratic principle of checks and balances, her refusal to be held accountable? To her admirers, and perhaps the Vice President herself, these are not flaws but virtues. These are leadership traits. Guess where she got that idea?

Smart fighters know when to attack, when to duck and weave, when to retreat, and when to throw in the towel. Not this one. Like the rest of you, I want to see how this fight ends. – Rappler.com

Joey Salgado is a former journalist, and a government and political communications practitioner. He served as spokesperson for former Vice President Jejomar Binay.