Photo credit: Congress PH

During a House hearing on the proposed 2025 budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday, Rep. Raoul Manuel raised eyebrows by pointing out some errors in Vice President Sara Duterte's children's book, "Isang Kaibigan."

Manuel highlighted a few issues with the book’s content. "Kasama po diyan ['yung] 'dahon ng Banahaw,' wala naman pong dahon ng Banahaw. Baka Anahaw po 'yung tinutukoy," he said, suggesting that the book might have mistakenly referred to the wrong leaf. He also noted that the word "sila" should be "sina" and that "walang awa" should have a hyphen.

Manuel also inquired about the name of the book's editor. Vice President Duterte responded with a quip, "The name of the editor of the book is Raoul Manuel. It's a joke, ma'am. You strike it out of the record if you want."

The book, set to be distributed to students, has been allocated a budget of P10 million. However, the House committee on appropriations decided to put a hold on the OVP budget deliberations, with plans to resume discussions on September 10, 2024.