(Left, seated) OVP Legal Affairs Department Emily Torrentira (PPAB)

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability was left with no choice but to expel on Monday, Nov. 11, the chief lawyer of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) after she refused to take oath during the panel’s ongoing investigation.

Emily Torrentira, the Legal Affairs Department Chief of the OVP, attended the hearing Monday morning to represent Vice President Sara Duterte’s office.

Torrentira was not among the OVP officials that the panel earlier issued subpoenas to, to explain adverse audit findings on the use of the P625 million in confidential funds of the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s leadership.

The panel, chaired by Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, is currently probing the alleged misuse of funds by the two offices.

As the hearing commenced, the resource persons who appeared before the panel for the first time were asked to take their oath.

The premise of the oath is simple: “To tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

However, in an unusual move, Torrentira refused to go through this process and caught the ire of lawmakers.

“May I ask the good attorney, what is your role in this, you were not invited but you are present in today’s hearing but you never take your oath? Why? What is your presence here for?” asked Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.

“Mr. Chair, your Honor, I am the chief of legal affairs of the [OVP]. I am here to represent the institution,” Torrentira replied.

Paduano emphasized that given the official is supposedly representing the OVP, she should take an oath first.

“You’re a lawyer, you know that, you cannot speak unless, until you take your oath. That’s the rule, internal rules of this House and of this committee,” the lawmaker stressed.

The OVP legal chief asserted that she was not refusing to take an oath.

She explained that the reason behind her attendance was to explain why there was no receipt of the subpoena issued to the OVP officers summoned by the panel.

It was at this point when the panel’s committee secretary informed lawmakers that Torrentira did not present a letter of authorization to confirm that she was there to represent the OVP.

This prompted Paduano to dismiss the OVP’s chief lawyer from the inquiry.

“Mr. Chairman, I move that we strike out from record all the statement being made by the good attorney. I move that we excuse the good lady, attorney, from this room, and request the OSAA (Office of Sergeant-at-Arms) to escort the good attorney outside of this room,” said Paduano.

“First and foremost, since the good lawyer has no written authority coming from the Vice President, second, she never took her oath,” he explained.

Torrentira’s refusal to take an oath marks the second time an official from the OVP refused to do so.

The first was Vice President Duterte herself during the first hearing of the Good Government Committee last Sept. 18.

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‘Unprecedented amount’

Also on Monday, the Chua panel--often referred to as the House Blue Ribbon Committee—learned that that the P500 million in confidential funds allocated to Duterte were an “unprecedented amount” for the OVP.

OVP Chief Accountant Julieta Villadelrey, who has served since 1990 under multiple vice presidents, confirmed that there is a notable increase in confidential funds under the present administration.

“Since Vice President [Salvador] Laurel’s time, this is the first instance that the OVP has been granted such a significant amount in confidential funds, correct?” asked Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd district Rep. David “Jay-jay” Suarez.

“As I recall, your honor, that is correct,” Villadelrey answered.

Historically, the OVP—the country’s second-highest office—operates with little to no confidential funds.

This point was stressed even further during the interpellation of Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, when she interpellated OVP Budget Office Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido.

Teñido, who has been with the OVP since 2014 or since the time of then-Vice President Jejomar Binay, confirmed that no secret funds were allocated to Duterte’s direct predecessor, former Vice President Leni Robredo.

Asked whether Binay had ever requested confidential funds, Teñido recalled “a series of correspondences” related to confidential funds. However, he noted that there were also orders to return these funds.

Luistro noted that Duterte’s preference for confidential funds began during her time as mayor of Davao City.

She pointed out that allocations of such funds steadily increased, from P144 million in 2016, P294 million in 2017, P420 million in 2018, and P460 million annually from 2019 to 2022.

The lady lawmaker said these funds were handled by former Davao City officials Zuleika Lopez and Gina Acosta.

Lopez, now Duterte’s chief of staff at the OVP, and Acosta, her special disbursement officer, are among the OVP officials being summoned by the committee.

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VP’s inner circle

The control over the OVP’s P500 million in confidential funds is restricted to a small group of high-ranking officials, led by Duterte herself.

This was revealed during the interpellation of Deputy Speaker Suarez, as he probed OVP officials on who holds responsibility for the liquidation and management of the said funds.

OVP’s Villadelrey, Administrative and Financial Services Director Rosalynne Sanchez, and Budget Division Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido all stated they had no personal knowledge or involvement with the confidential funds.

When asked, Sanchez confirmed that only Acosta and Lopez, aside from the Vice President, directly managed the funds

“So in the end, only the SDO, the chief of staff, and the vice president herself have any knowledge or oversight of these funds, correct?” asked Suarez.

“That is correct, Your Honor,” responded Sanchez.

During a previous hearing, Former DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa informed the committee that Duterte had direct control over the agency’s confidential funds during her tenure as secretary.

Poa, who is no longer connected to the Vice President, also identified SDO Edward Fajarda as the officials who have control over DepEd’s P112.5 million in confidential funds.

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