Vice President Sara Duterte said Wednesday she will not heed the calls of a few congressmen to step down from her post.

“I will not answer the call of the Young Guns because I need to answer to the 32 million people who voted me, not to one or two people. I will not leave this post because the people put me here believing I will work for the country,” Duterte said at press a briefing.

This was in response to Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Raul Bongalon’s comment on her skipping House Committee on Appropriations and plenary deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s 2025 budget.

He is part of the Young Guns bloc, a group of House lawmakers who are aged 40 and below.

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David Suarez said most congressmen shared the same sentiment.

“It shows that she is not interested in her duties and functions as the Vice President of the Philippines. If that’s the case, probably we can ask her to step down as the Vice President,” Bongalon said at a previous press conference.

Duterte said some lawmakers were just using the hearings to make a case for her impeachment.

“Apparently, the way I see things happen, they do not have a case for impeachment. They are there to see what they can use (against me),” she said.

She reiterated her accusation against ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro starting the calls for her impeachment.

Dutere said if the P733-million budget of her office will be approved by the House, she would find a way to work around it.

She said she would be attending Senate plenary hearings.

“We are waiting for the schedule from the Senate for the plenary budget hearing of the Office of the Vice President. So we will attend that,” Duterte said.

Duterte said she was not expecting an increase in their 2025 budget. Her original proposal was a budget of P2.037 billion from P1.874 billion. A House of the Representatives committee recommended a budget of P733.198 million for 2025. Jaspearl Tan/DMS