Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

The chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability has ruled out the possibility of Vice President Sara Duterte getting cited for contempt in its ongoing inquiry on her alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs). 

"Si VP Sara po? No, we will not cite her [in contempt]," Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua told House reporters in a virtual interview Monday, Oct.28. 

Chua was asked whether or not his panel would eventually cite the lady official in contempt and have her detained in case that she continues to refuse to cooperate in the investigation. 

"At the end of the day, we respect her as the second-highest ranking official of our country as Vice President," said the committee chairman. 

While Duterte will be given a pass, Chua said this courtesy "won't be extended to her staff members". 

"Siguro po yung mga staff po niya [ang masa-cite in contempt] (Maybe it's her staff who will be held in contempt)," the Manila lawmaker said. 

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/17/ovp-s-alleged-safehouse-spending-spree


The good government panel--often referred to as the "Senate Blue Ribbon Committee" of the House of Representatives has held three hearings so far on the CIF utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd), during Duterte’s tenure as agency secretary. 

Vice President Duterte only attended the first hearing; even so, she did not take an oath and left the proceedings early. 

A contempt citation of a resource person during a committee investigation in the House comes with a minimum penalty of a 10-day detention.