House panel seeks lookout order on 7 OVP officials
Joel Chua —Photo from the House of Representatives
MANILA, Philippines — A House panel has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an immigration lookout bulletin order (Ilbo) against seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) who have snubbed its hearings on the alleged misuse of OVP funds following reports they may be planning to leave the country.
The request was made by the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua against the OVP officials led by chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff, and bids and awards committee chair Lemuel Ortonio, administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, former Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda and her husband Edward Fajarda, both close aides of Vice President Sara Duterte.
READ: House panel flags VP Duterte’s spending on ‘safe houses’
In a letter to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Chua said the testimonies of the OVP officials were crucial to the House inquiry and the issuance of an Ilbo was urgent based on information they were preparing to leave the country after being subpoenaed by his committee.
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Article continues after this advertisement“Considering these developments, I earnestly request your office to issue a Lookout Bulletin Order against these personalities,” Chua said in his letter.
Article continues after this advertisement“This action is imperative to monitor their movements and prevent any potential attempt to flee the country, which could significantly hinder our investigation and broader efforts to uphold the integrity of public service,” he added.
An Ilbo instructs immigration officers to verify whether there are arrest warrants pending against the subjects and to alert authorities if they attempt to leave the country.
The ongoing House hearing was based on a privilege speech by Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano who earlier accused Duterte of mismanaging OVP funds, citing the Commission on Audit (COA) findings.
A COA report said the OVP spent P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in 2022, or from Dec. 21 to Dec. 31. According to acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to the COA to justify its usage of the money, some P16 million in confidential funds were used to rent 34 safe houses during the said period, with one safe house costing nearly P91,000 daily.
Notice of disallowance
State auditors later issued a notice of disallowance for P73 million out of the P125 million and directed Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey, to return the amount to the government.
The amount covered P10 million in rewards payment, P34.857 million for rewards in the form of “various goods,” another P24.93 million for rewards in the form of “medicines,” and P3.5 million for tables, chairs, desktop computers, and printers with unclear confidential purposes.
In one hearing, Gloria Mercado, former Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary and head of procuring entity, told the committee that Sunshine Charry Fajarda, acting on behalf of Duterte who was the concurrent DepEd secretary at the time, gave her P450,000 in cash over nine months, allegedly to influence her decisions in the agency’s bidding process.
DepEd Undersecretary for finance Annalyn Sevilla also told the panel that it was Edward Fajarda who withdrew and transferred P112.5 million worth of the agency’s confidential funds in the first three quarters of 2023.
The House committee will hold its sixth hearing on Nov. 5.
At its first hearing on Sept. 18, Duterte appeared but refused to take an oath and left shortly after reading a short statement.
She and other OVP officials have skipped the hearings since then.
VP’s ratings
Two House leaders, meanwhile, attributed the decline in Duterte’s performance and trust ratings based on a recent survey to her lack of transparency and accountability.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said the questions regarding the funds on her watch are “simple.”
“For the sake of taxpaying Filipinos, she should be answering these,” he said.
Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said it was difficult to keep the public’s trust when there were many unanswered questions.
