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

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is in the process of verifying information that it was Vice President Sara Duterte who signed the travel authority of her chief-of-staff to depart to the United States (US) on the eve of a scheduled hearing into the alleged misuse of public funds.

This was according to Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, the committee chairperson, who disclosed that “reliable sources” provided him this information. 

Chua pointed out that Office of the Vice President (OVP) Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez’s sudden travel abroad appeared to be an attempt to avoid testifying before the panel.

“Nakakalungkot na tila may effort na pigilan ang mga opisyal ng OVP sa pagharap sa aming imbestigasyon,” he added.

(It is unfortunate that there seems to be an effort to prevent OVP officials from appearing in our investigation.)

Chua’s panel, also referred to as the House Blue Ribbon Committee, is currently investigating the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s tenure as secretary.

The lawmaker stressed that Lopez’s absence, alongside that of six other key OVP officials, undermined the committee’s efforts to shed light on the alleged fund mismanagement.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 6, the Chua panel issued another subpoena ad testificandum to Lopez and the other officials to compel their attendance in the next hearing.

The OVP officials skipped the ongoing inquiry for the fourth time on Tuesday.

Chua said these repeated absences, including Duterte’s refusal to directly address the issues, reflect a pattern of avoiding accountability.

“Sooner or later, VP Duterte and the officials of the OVP will have to answer these questions. Hinding-hindi nila ito matatakasan (They will never be able to escape this),” he stressed.

Where did the funds go?

Chua underscored that Duterte’s office must be transparent in the utilization of its budget.

He cited that the Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged a huge portion of confidential funds under the Vice President and even disallowed P73 million of the P125 million spent by the OVP in just 11 days during the last quarter of 2022. 

“Bukod sa pagpigil sa kanyang mga opisyal, tinangka pa ng OVP na kumbinsihin ang COA para hindi ipasa sa amin sa House of Representatives ang mga dokumento sa amin,” Chua said, referring to a letter from the OVP requesting COA to withhold audit documents from the lower chamber.

(Aside from preventing her officials, the OVP also attempted to convince the COA not to pass the documents to us in the House of Representatives.)

In a letter dated Aug. 21, the OVP argued that the subpoena issued by the House Committee on Appropriations violated the separation of powers and could interfere with COA’s independent auditing process.

COA was urged to withhold audit documents concerning the OVP’s confidential fund usage, which hahad been tagged for supposed questionable spending.

“Ang tanong ng taumbayan ay simple lang: Saan napunta ang pondong ito? (The people's question is simple: Where did this fund go?)” said Chua.

“Instead of answering, they are trying to prevent COA from sharing important documents with the House of Representatives. This is a disservice to the Filipino people, who deserve transparency and accountability in the use of public funds,” he added.

The Manila solon noted that previous hearings found that there were irregularities in the fund usage. Hence, this should prompt the OVP officials to finally face the music.

“Kailangan malinawan ang bayan sa isyung ito (The public needs to be enlightened on this issue). The people deserve answers, especially when public funds are involved,” Chua stated.

“Kung malinis ang kanilang intensyon, dapat nilang ipaliwanag sa bayan kung paano nila ginastos ang pondong ito (If their intentions were clean, they should explain to the public how these funds were spent). Public accountability is not just a requirement, it’s a duty,” he emphasized.

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House panel gives last chance for OVP execs to appear in inquiry