House panel orders 4 OVP officials detained

Metro Manila, Philippines — A House panel has ordered four officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) arrested for their repeated absence in the congressional inquiry on confidential funds.

The House committee on good government and public accountability is investigating the confidential funds of Vice President Sara Duterte’s office and the Department of Education (DepEd), which she led.

During the hearing on Monday, Nov. 11, the panel cited in contempt OVP assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio, OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, former DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, and former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda.

The Fajarda couple are currently under the OVP.

Committee members have agreed to detain them in the House premises until the final panel report will be submitted to the plenary.

The panel also issued another subpoena to OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez. On Nov. 4, she flew to the United States.

Based on her letter to the committee, Lopez’s aunt has requested her to accompany her as she is undergoing medical care at a hospital in the US.

Meanwhile, four OVP officials attended the hearing: administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, chief administrative officer Kevin Tenido, and budget division officer in charge Edelyn Rabago.

Informants’ whereabouts

Batangas 2nd District Rep. Jinky Luistro asked the OVP officials about the whereabouts of their informants who stayed in safehouses.

In 2022, the OVP spent P16 million to pay for safehouses. In the last quarter of 2023, there was no expenditure for safehouses anymore.

“Sa’n po napunta ‘yung informant at assets n’yo which you have been keeping in your safe houses from the last quarter of 2022 to the last quarter of 2023? ‘Yun po ba in-abandon ng OVP? ‘Yun po ba biglang nag-disappear?" Luistro inquired.

[Translation: Where did your informants and assets, which you have been keeping in your safehouses from the last quarter of 2022 to the last quarter of 2023, go? Did the OVP abandon them? Did they suddenly disappear?]

None among the present OVP officials has knowledge on the matter.

The safehouses are under the OVP good governance program. Luistro noted that safehouses and confidential funds were not included in the said program under the helm of former Vice President Leni Robredo.

"Would it be correct to say that the key officials of Vice President Duterte altered the menu of the good governance program of then Vice President Robredo?" Luistro raised.

"I think that would be a possible explanation," Sanchez replied, adding that they are allowed to alter the program.

New projects, satellite offices

Villadelrey said that the OVP 2023 budget of about P2 billion was the highest compared to the previous administrations. She cited new projects and the 10 satellite offices as the factors why there was an increase.

Meanwhile, among the projects is the Pagbabago campaign, which aims to provide school bags with supplies and dental kits to a million students and to plant a million trees.

“This increase in supplies and materials expenses is extremely alarming, an increase of almost 494 percent,” Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano said.

Valeriano asked the Commission on Audit to provide a copy of the audited 2023 financial statement of the OVP.