(UPDATE) THE House Committee on Good Government and Accountability on Monday cited in contempt four officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) over their continued failure to attend its hearings.
They were Lemuel Ortonio, Gina Acosta, Sunshine Charry Fajarda and Edward Fajarda. The latter two are formerly from the Department of Education.
The committee ruled to detain them in the premises of the House of Representatives until the committee sent its final report to the House plenary for deliberation — finding their excuses for non-attendance "unacceptable."
Vice President Sara Duterte branded the panel's probe as "politically motivated."
"Their problem is they have no evidence of wrongdoing," she said in Filipino and English. "That is why they are really trying to find [evidence] of corruption during their hearings, but until now, they have been unable to do so."
In the press briefing, Duterte said there were resource persons who were not able to attend the Monday hearing at the House because of OVP anniversary activities.
Duterte had attended the first day of the House panel's probe on Sept. 18, during which she accused lawmakers of making a case for her impeachment, but House leaders denied there was a move to impeach her.
Later, in a letter dated Sept. 23, she informed the panel that she "will not be attending the deliberation" and stated her reasons.
Duterte had said that verification could be easily done "through the accomplishment reports submitted by the OVP to support its 2025 budget proposal, and confirmed through various news reports, CoA (Commission on Audit) reports and postings on various social media platforms."
"Clearly, the conduct of a formal inquiry or hearing on the matter is unnecessary," Duterte had said.
She had also reiterated her request to end the probe "immediately."
Meanwhile, for humanitarian consideration, the committee agreed to reissue the subpoena to OVP Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez, who left the country earlier this month.
Lopez had submitted a letter explaining her travel to the United States.
Before the committee ruled to reissue the subpoena to Lopez, House Deputy Speaker and Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez said "maybe we can extend a little bit more our understanding."
"We can accept the letter of Attorney Zuleika Lopez, but only until our next committee hearing," Suarez said.
The committee is looking into fund use by the OVP under Vice President Sara Duterte and by the Department of Education when she was the department's secretary.
Lopez, Ortonio, Rosalynne Sanchez, Acosta, Villadelrey and the Fajardas were subpoenaed to explain the handling of confidential funds.
Present in the hearing on Monday were Chief Accountant Julieta Villadelrey, Administrative and Financial Services Director Rosalynne Sanchez, Edelyn Rabago, and Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido.
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