North South Jorunal news team 
Vice President Sara Duterte’s team has requested that the Supreme Court reject appeals challenging the P125 million in confidential money that the OVP will get in 2022.
Duterte contended in a 19-page consolidated comment that the petitions ought to be dismissed because they fail to provide a legitimate case or dispute. Additionally, she stated that there is no allegation in the petitions that she abused her discretion gravely.
” It stated that this Court will not consider any topic, no matter how intriguing or convincing, unless it can be demonstrated that there is an “actual and antagonistic assertion of rights by one party against the other in a controversy wherein judicial intervention is unavoidable.”
The first petition, submitted in November 2023, asked for the government treasury to receive the OVP’s private cash back. It requested that the transfer be ruled “unconstitutional” by the court.
Former Finance Department Undersecretary Maria Cielo Magno, Christian Monsod, Augusto Lagman, former chair of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Imelda Nicolas, Attorney, and Christian Monsod, the 1987 Constitution’s framer, were among the petitioners. Miguel Jugo, Honorio Poblador III, Vicente Romano III, Jose Ibarra Gutierrez III, Katrina Monsod, Ray Paolo Santiago, and Rex Drilon.
Representatives of the Makabayan bloc, meanwhile, submitted the second petition in December 2023 challenging the OVP’s use of private funding. In the same way, they asked for the money to be returned and the transfer to be ruled invalid and unlawful.
The Court also sought to declare void the order and circular governing the general transfer of intelligence and confidential funds by many lawyers, clergymen, and law students.
Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Attorney, was one of the petitioners. JP Calleja, former senator Richard Gordon, and Howard Calleja.
Duterte’s camp emphasized in its comment that for a court to use its judicial power, there needs to be a case or controversy, the petitioner needs to have legal standing, the constitutionality issue needs to be brought up as soon as possible, and the constitutional question itself needs to be the case’s main focus.
According to Duterte, there was “nothing irregular or unauthorized” regarding the use of the cash in August 2023. The OVP spent P125 million during 11 days in December 2022, which was first revealed by COA.
