Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability remains “hopeful” that Vice President Sara Duterte will attend the hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 20, despite an earlier statement from the official that she would skip the ongoing inquiry.

Despite personally receiving an invitation, Duterte said she will instead submit a sworn affidavit before the panel.

“Kami syempre hopeful pa rin na makarating siya, dahil sa tingin namin ‘yung sworn affidavit is not enough,” said Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, the committee chairman.

(Of course, we are still hopeful that she will attend, because in our view the sworn affidavit is not enough.)

“Marami po kasing mga katanungan ang mga kasama sa committee na gusto rin po naming malinawan,” he explained.

(The members of the committee have many questions that we want clarification.)

Chua’s panel, also referred to as the House Blue Ribbon Committee, is currently investigating the alleged misuse of public funds of Duterte’s Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) under her term as secretary.

The Vice President only appeared before the committee during its first hearing on Sept. 18, where she refused to take an oath.

Last Wednesday, during the hearing of the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing, she received a new invitation from the Blue Ribbon panel.

Despite not being invited, Duterte appeared in the quad-comm hearing as part of the audience. She was there to support her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who served as a resource person.

Taguig City 2nd district Rep. Pammy Zamora said the Vice President’s appearance to watch over the elder Duterte was a “very kind” gesture.

“However, you know if she was able to come here last week, she should be able to go here tomorrow,”  Zamora pointed out.

“If she doesn’t arrive, kahit may sworn affidavit siya, she lose her chance na mas mabigyang linaw ‘yung mga isyu na ito. Kung kaya niya naman niyang ipagtanggol ang sarili niya, she should come,” she added.

(If she doesn't arrive, even if she has a sworn affidavit, she loses her chance to clarify these issues. If she can defend herself, she should come.)

The Blue Ribbon committee’s inquiry specifically centers on the handling of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the
OVP and DepEd.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged nearly half of the funds, disallowing P73 million spent by the OVP within an 11-day period in the last quarter of 2022.

Summoned OVP officials

Aside from Vice President Duterte, Chua’s panel is also awaiting the appearance of five OVP officials.

During last week’s hearing, the committee cited in contempt and ordered the detention of four of the officials over their “continued defiance” to attend the hearing.

The four officials were: Assistant Chief of Staff and Chairperson of the Bids and Awards committee Lemuel Ortonio, Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, former Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda, and SDO Edward Fajarda.

“Hopefully by tomorrow, malaman na po natin kung ano ‘yung mga nangyari,” said Chua.

(Hopefully by tomorrow, we will know what happened.)

The lawmaker pointed out if they opt to skip the hearing anew, this would mark the sixth straight snub of the committee.

“Para sa amin, itong ginagawa po nila sa Kamara ay waste of people’s money rin ‘to,” he said.

(For us, what they are doing to the House is also a waste of people's money.)

“So, sana naman, this time, makipag-cooperate na rin po sila kung totoo man ‘yung sinasabi nila na wala silang kinalaman. Ito na ‘yung pinakatamang lugar para maipaliwanag po nila lahat ito,” he continued.

(So, hopefully, this time, they will cooperate if what they say is true that they have nothing to do with the issues. This is the right place for them to explain it all.)

VP’s trusted aide

Chua said the panel will also be expecting OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez to attend the hearing on Wednesday.

Lopez, a trusted aide of Duterte, was issued a subpoena ad testificandum during the previous hearing.

Earlier, the committee learned that Lopez has departed to the United States (US) a day before she was scheduled to appear in the ongoing inquiry.

However, in a letter addressed to Chua, the official explained that she traveled abroad to attend a medical emergency involving her aunt.

Chua said he has yet to receive a confirmation of her attendance.

Even so, the lawmaker told reporters that he received information that Lopez arrived in the Philippines yesterday.

“So hopefully tomorrow ay maka-attend po siya (she will be able to attend),” he said.

He said Lopez’s attendance tomorrow would dictate whether the panel will also cite her in contempt or not.

Reward money

Following the announcement of a P1-million cash reward for the identity of a certain OVP signatory, “Mary Grace Piattos”, Chua said his panel has yet to receive any information about the person.

He said if this particular person is willing to appear, the Blue Ribbon panel will be open to ensuring her security.

“Kung malalagay naman sa alanganin (If they are in trouble), they can always ask for an executive session,” he noted.

The unusual name of “Mary Grace Piattos” appeared in acknowledgement receipts [ARs] currently being linked to the OVP’s alleged misuse of public funds.

According to Chua, the committee will coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to verify information about the identity of such a person.

Just the start

Alongside “Mary Grace Piattos”, Chua’s committee also aims to investigate the 158 ARs the OVP submitted to the COA.

The receipts were reportedly used to justify the disbursement of the allocated confidential funds to the OVP and the DepEd between 2022 and 2023.

Chua said some of the receipts covered periods when no confidential funds were available, which raises doubt about their legitimacy.

“Ang theory po namin, parang lumabas ang mga [ARs] noong nilabasan po sila ng AOM ng COA. So because of that, nataranta po sila to justify ‘yung liquidation nila. Nag-produce sila ng maraming [ARs],” he explained.

(Our theory is that the ARs appeared when the COA issued them the AOM. So because of that, they hurried to justify their liquidation. They produced a lot of ARs).

The congressman said the panel is considering engaging with penmanship experts to examine the documents, noting that they are riddled with mismatched dates, missing signatures, and other irregularities.