MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Martin Romualdez challenged Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday, November 21, to show up at the congressional probe into her office’s use of confidential funds.
This is the first time Romualdez has directly called out Duterte since their political rift deepened, following the vice president's accusations that he manipulated the budgets of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Related Stories
At the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair in Albay, Romualdez was asked to comment on Duterte’s statement on Wednesday that the OVP’s “biggest challenge” was seeing her staff interrogated at the House probe.
“Eh ‘di dapat lang siyang sumipot at mag-oath at magsalita at mag-eksplika dahil lahat ng mga opisyales niya ayun… Siya lang yata may alam kung anong nangyari diyan sa mga pondo eh kaya dapat siya ang mag-eksplika,” Romualdez said in an ambush interview.
(Well, she should show up, take an oath, speak, and explain because all her officials... She’s probably the only one who knows what happened with those funds, so she’s the one who needs to explain.)
He added that Duterte should personally address the issue instead of leaving it to OVP and DepEd officials.
“‘Wag niya nang ibigay sa mga officials ng OVP at DepEd. Sana lang magsalita,” Romualdez added.
(She shouldn’t leave it to the officials of the OVP and DepEd. Hopefully, she actually speaks.)
Skipping hearings, holding press briefings
The vice president only appeared once before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on its first hearing on September 18. She has since refused to attend, holding instead her own press conferences to address questions from the media.
Duterte’s first conference took place on September 25, moments after the committee heard from a former DepEd official about resignation orders and cash envelopes coming from the vice president herself.
That time, she described the DepEd official as a “disgruntled employee,” claiming she had asked for her resignation due to alleged misconduct in procurement and the controversial appointment of a teacher to an executive assistant position.
Duterte held another press briefing on October 18, a day after the committee held its third hearing, and on November 11, the same day the committee conducted its fifth hearing.
The vice president also gave a media interview on Wednesday, November 20, as the House probe questioned OVP officials about 158 acknowledgment receipts containing typographical errors, unusual names like Mary Grace Piattos and incorrect dates.
RELATED: Is ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ real? P1M reward up for info on OVP fund recipient
Despite the questions, she remained tight-lipped, offering no comment and insisting that the receipts did not go through her. OVP officials present — including her chief of staff — likewise claimed they had no knowledge of how the confidential funds were spent.
House probe's findings
Duterte has come under fire for how the OVP and DepEd spent and accounted for the combined P612.5 million confidential funds. They faced criticism and were flagged for spending P125 million in just 11 days in December 2022.
State auditors also issued a notice of disallowance to the OVP for P73 million, indicating that funds may have been inappropriately used.
According to the Commission on Audit, the OVP used the confidential funds for various purposes, including information gathering, rewards, safe house rentals and maintenance, supplies, medical and food aid, and travel incentives related to confidential operations.
An additional P125 million in secret funds was spent in each of the first three quarters of 2023.
House lawmakers were surprised that P16 million was spent on 34 safehouses in just 11 days, with costs ranging from as low as P250,000 to as high as P1 million, according to the acknowledgment receipts.
RELATED: OVP spent P16 million in confidential funds on 34 safehouses in 2022 — COA
However, the committee was also skeptical of the acknowledgment receipts, calling them “bogus” and “red flags” as many contained similar handwriting and inaccurate dates.
RELATED: House panel flags 158 'bogus' OVP receipts linked to confidential funds
DepEd, on the other hand, said that P15.54 million confidential funds were used to conduct “youth leadership summits.” However, the Philippine Army, which was tasked with organizing them, claimed it did not receive any funds for the events. This was also disallowed by the Commission on Audit.
At the sixth hearing on November 20, Landbank officials revealed that the OVP’s P500 million confidential funds and DepEd’s P112.5 million were stored in duffel bags by the special disbursing officers when withdrawn.
RELATED: OVP, DepEd confidential funds stashed in duffel bags, says bank officials
The two disbursing officers snubbed the hearing again, even after the committee cited them in contempt and ordered their arrest. Meanwhile, OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez, who appeared on Wednesday, was also cited in contempt and detained for five days due to what was deemed intellectual dishonesty.
House leaders previously mentioned that Duterte may be impeached for possible graft and corruption, including betrayal of public trust and malversation.