Sara Duterte skips House probe into OVP’s budget use

Vice President Sara Duterte will not be attending the continuing deliberations of a House panel on how the Office of the Vice President (OVP) uses its budget based on the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA).

In a letter addressed to House committee on good government and public accountability chairperson and Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua, Duterte also reiterated her call “to terminate this inquiry immediately” due to several reasons.

One of which, she pointed out, is that “the inquiry must only be in relation to legislation and should ideally have a proposed bill to guide the discussions therein,” citing a provision in the Constitution. 

READ: Vice President’s Sara Duterte’s letter to Rep. Joel Chua, explaining why she is not attending the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s continuing inquiry into the the OVP’s budget use, scheduled this morning. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/WfYY84BQTO

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) September 25, 2024

“Inquiries should not be adversarial nor prosecutorial and should recognize the right of persons to refuse to participate in the crafting of laws. The [House of Representatives] cannot compel people to participate in the legislative process and such right is protected by the Constitution,” the Vice President wrote.

She also claimed that the inquiry is based on “unsubstantiated allegations” by Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano in his privilege speech, which she said only cited the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budget of the OVP in the National Capital Region. 

In his speech titled “Asserting the Power of the Purse of Congress,” Valeriano called out the Vice President over alleged inefficient use of the OVP’s budget based on the findings of state auditors and her refusal to answer lawmakers’ questions on the budget use.

Duterte also said that a draft house bill should be presented, should there be a need for a formal inquiry, “to ensure that the discussions would be germane to the subject matter.” 

“In fact, the invitation of the Committee itself lacks any clear legislative objective or contemplated legislation that is expected as an outcome of the deliberations,” she added.

In response, Valeriano said that the House panel gave Duterte the courtesies as Vice President, but she “reciprocated those courtesies with her grandstanding to attack Congress and please her blind followers and fake news proliferators comprising the core of her shrinking political base.”

“In her imagination, VP Sara believes the public hearing to be a witch hunt so evidence could be gathered for an impeachment case against her. There is no such impeachment case filed. She is delusional and scaring herself,” he said.

''We will continue our hearings and investigation despite the obstructions posed by the Vice President,” he added.

Duterte also said that the issues already pending before the Supreme Court should not be discussed in the House. According to her, the OVP has been filing its comments in response to the various petitions filed before the high court. 

Duterte also said that the OVP has been cooperating and coordinating with COA in accordance with the latter’s Rules of Procedure. 

The letter was dated September 23 and was received by the House panel on Wednesday, September 25—when the second public hearing on the matter was scheduled.

On September 18, Duterte faced the first hearing of the House committee on OVP’s budget use where she categorically denied misuse of public funds.

"I am appearing before you today not only as the head of office, but more importantly as the newly authorized representative of all officials of the OVP (Office of the Vice President). Simply because we have not done anything wrong," Duterte told the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, the chamber's counterpart to the Senate blue ribbon panel.

"There is no misuse of funds. If there are audit findings, we will gladly respond to them before the Commission on Audit. And if there are legitimate cases to be filed, then we will gladly respond to them before the appropriate courts in relation to this," she added. --VAL/VBL, GMA Integrated News