By Junex Doronio
MANILA – Following their leader’s example, five officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) skipped Wednesday’s (25 Sept 2024) congressional inquiry into Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of public funds. This prompted 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.
If these officials fail to provide a satisfactory explanation or if the committee deems their response insufficient, they could face a contempt order, which may lead 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 invited 17 OVP officials, only OVP spokesperson Michael Poa, appointed on August 19, appeared. Poa informed the committee that he was not authorized 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 left once proceedings started.
VP Sara Duterte was also absent. In a letter dated September 23, she informed Chua that she would not attend what she called an “unnecessary” hearing and urged the committee to terminate the probe.
The investigation originated from a privilege speech by Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano, accusing Duterte of mismanaging OVP funds based on Commission on Audit (COA) findings.
COA disallowed over P73 million of the P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022 – nearly 60 percent of the total. Even more concerning, COA found that this amount was spent in just 11 days, from December 20 to 31, 2022, averaging P11 million per day.
In its Notice of Disallowance, COA ordered Vice President Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey as “accountable officials,” to return the disallowed P73 million to the government.
Additionally, COA questioned a further P500 million allocated over 2022 and 2023, with only 10 percent or P51 million cleared, leaving the majority of the funds under scrutiny.
The Chua panel also expanded its investigation to include the Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte also heads, regarding its failure to deliver ICT equipment to teachers and students, as well as concerns over proper fund utilization.
The inquiry highlighted DepEd’s low utilization rate of 19.22 percent, with nearly P9 billion of its P11.36 billion budget for ICT equipment left unused in 2023.
The committee will also examine the 2023 COA report, which revealed 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.
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