Philippines VP Sara Duterte’s children’s book sparks controversy over misuse of funds

A children’s book about friendship written by Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio triggered a very hostile exchange with an opposition senator, accusing her of misappropriating funds for wanting the state to pay for copies of the book.

During a national budget hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros asked the vice-president about an allocation of 10 million pesos (US$177,000) from her office to print 200,000 copies of a children’s book she wrote in 2023.

Hontiveros described the request as “improper”, saying taxpayer money should not be used for a book that a public official wrote that would benefit her politically.

Hontiveros also suggested that since a large portion – 1.9 billion of the 2.037 billion pesos of the vice-president’s office budget – is meant for handing out socioeconomic aid, which other agencies were already doing, it would be better to reallocate those funds, so the vice-president can simply refer those in need to them.

Duterte-Carpio hit back, justifying running her own aid programme by saying that other agencies had rejected her funds because she was “a [political] enemy of the government” of President Marcos, Jnr.

The finance committee ultimately overruled Hontiveros and approved Duterte-Carpio’s budget without cuts. However, it will still have to be approved by the Senate and a bicameral conference committee, during which members of the Lower House – who have largely turned against the Duterte family – can still trim her budget.

The House is currently led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jnr’s cousin, whom Duterte-Carpio had publicly insulted last year by calling him a “tambaloslos” – a small dark male creature in local lore with a big mouth and male