Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte was a no-show on Wednesday, Sept. 25, for the continuation of a House inquiry on how she spent her office’s budget in previous years, citing “unsubstantiated allegations.”
In a letter dated Sept. 23, Duterte cited a number of reasons for her absence, including the lack of clear “legislative objective.”
The vice president responded to Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua – the panel chairperson, who wrote to her office on Sept. 20.
The inquiry stemmed from a privilege speech of Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano titled “Asserting Power of the Purse,” questioning Duterte’s refusal to answer lawmakers during the appropriations committee hearing on her proposed 2025 budget.
Valeriano questioned whether the agency’s socio-economic programs are focused in Metro Manila. In her letter, Duterte said these claims can be through the office’s accomplishment reports.
“Clearly, the conduct of a formal inquiry or hearing on the matter is unnecessary. Further, should there indeed be a need for a formal inquiry to (be) made, then a draft house bill should at least be presented to ensure that the discussions would be germane to the subject matter,” she said.
The vice president further said the rules of the inquiry were not in line with the Constitution.
“A reading of the Rules reveals that the terms ‘inquiry’ and ‘investigation,’ as well as ‘persons’ and ‘witnesses,’ are used interchangeably. The use of the term ‘investigation’ in the Rules appears to depart from the purpose of merely aiding legislation and refers more to the investigative powers associated with judicial processes, particularly since the Rules also allow for the supplementary application of the Rules of Court,” she said.
On Sept. 18, Duterte refused to testify under oath, saying she was invited as a resource person and not a witness.
She also said some issues raised in the committee are pending in the Supreme Court and should not be discussed further in the House.
“Speaking or commenting on the matter may directly or indirectly impede, obstruct or degrade the administration of justice. The OVP (Office of the Vice President) has been filing its comments in response to the various petitions filed before the Supreme Court,” she said.
‘Not about politics’
Chua slammed Duterte’s absence, saying the inquiry is not about politics.
He said the committee is alarmed over what he called “unimaginable” amounts of money in the agency’s alleged misuse of funds.
“I must stress at this point that the sheer vastness of these potentially misused funds sets this matter apart from other instances of irregularity and disallowance – these amounts easily surpass the threshold for the crime of plunder under our laws,” he said.
“These proceedings are about accountability. We seek to learn the truth of how public money… is being used,” Chua said.
In August, the Commission on Audit said it issued a notice of disallowance for the P73 million in confidential funds disbursed by the OVP in 2022. Chua said this is almost 60% of the agency’s P125-million confidential funds that year, which were spent in 11 days for surveillance activities.
READ: COA disallows over P73 Million in OVP 2022 confidential funds
Lawmakers substantially cut the OVP budget by nearly P1.3 billion – from P2.04 billion to just P733 million. Duterte skipped the plenary deliberations, saying she is leaving it up to the House to decide on the fate of her proposal.
