5 OVP OFFICIALS SKIP HOUSE PANEL INQUIRY ON VP SARA’S ALLEGED FUND MISUSE 

Following the example of Vice President Sara Duterte, five officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) also skipped Wednesday’s congressional inquiry into her use of public funds, prompting the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to issue a show-cause order demanding their explanation.

The officials named in the order include Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez (chief of staff), Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio (assistant chief of staff), Rosalynne Sanchez (director of Administrative and Financial Services), special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey.

The panel said should these OVP officials fail to provide a satisfactory explanation or if the committee deems their response insufficient, they will face a contempt order, potentially leading to their arrest and detention.

The committee, chaired by Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, directed the officials to explain why they should not be cited for contempt after ignoring the invitation to attend the hearing. The directive followed a motion by Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, the committee’s vice chair.

Although the panel had invited 17 OVP officials, only OVP spokesperson Michael Poa, appointed on August 19, was present. However, Poa informed the committee that he was not authorized by the Vice President to speak on behalf of the OVP during the proceedings.

According to the committee secretariat, several OVP officials were seen before the hearing began but disappeared once the proceedings started.

Duterte was also absent from the hearing. In a letter dated September 23, she informed Chua that she would not attend what she called an “unnecessary” hearing and again urged the committee to terminate the probe.

The investigation stemmed from a privilege speech delivered by Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano, accusing Duterte of mismanaging the funds of the OVP based on findings from the Commission on Audit (COA).

COA disallowed over P73 million of the P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022, nearly 60 percent of the total amount. 

Even more alarming, COA found that this amount was reportedly spent in just 11 days, from Dec. 20 to 31, 2022, averaging P11 million per day.

In its Notice of Disallowance, the COA ordered Vice President Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey, as “accountable officials,” to return the disallowed P73 million to the government.

The audit body also questioned P500 million allocated over 2022 and 2023, with only 10 percent or P51 million cleared without issue, leaving the bulk of the funds under scrutiny. 

The Chua panel also expanded its probe to cover the alleged failure of the Department of Education (DepEd), under Duterte’s leadership, to deliver ICT equipment to teachers and students, as well as concerns over the proper use of funds.

The investigation focuses on concerns over DepEd’s failure to utilize nearly P9 billion of its P11.36 billion budget for ICT equipment in 2023, resulting in a low utilization rate of 19.22 percent.

The committee will further examine the 2023 COA report, which exposed serious operational deficiencies in DepEd’s computerization program. 

The report noted that only 50 percent of the program’s budget had been utilized, with no substantial accomplishments for the year. 

Earlier the Vice President reiterated that there was no misuse of  funds.

“There is no misuse of funds. If there are audit findings, we shall gladly respond to them before the Commission on Audit. And if there are legitimate cases to be filed, then we shall gladly respond to them before the appropriate courts,” Duterte said.