Will Sara Duterte’s Beijing-friendly remarks blunt the Philippines’ South China Sea policy?

The VP’s congratulatory National Day message to Beijing is seen as a sign she and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr may not be on the same page on China

She also faces scrutiny following a budget reallocation to agencies on the South China Sea row frontline, a move observers say is ‘a slap’ in the face

Reading Time:5 minutes

Then vice-president-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio and then President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jnr during Duterte-Carpio’s inauguration ceremony in Davao City, Philippines, on June 19, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:30am, 8 Oct 2023Updated: 8:31pm, 8 Oct 2023

The alliance between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is being put to a test over a funding saga, with potential spillover effects on the South China Sea dispute between Manila and Beijing.

On September 27, leaders of the Philippine House of Representatives announced they would strip Duterte-Carpio’s Office of the Vice-President and the Department of Education, which she also heads, of all previously planned confidential funds totalling 650 million pesos (US$11.4 million) in next year’s national budget.

According to Manila’s funding guidelines, confidential funds are allocated for “surveillance activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the said agency”.

However, critics say the use of confidential funds in the Philippines is often controversial as they are not covered by standard audit rules requiring proof of expenses, thus giving officials overseeing such funds significant leeway for their use.

When Duterte-Carpio obtained the confidential funds for her office last year, she said the budget would be spent on tree planting, free transport and feeding programmes, among other areas.

The House leadership’s move came almost a week after Duterte-Carpio posted a video online congratulating China in English and Mandarin ahead of its National Day on October 1. “On behalf of the Filipino nation”, Duterte-Carpio said she had confidence in “China’s continued growth and progress”.

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