House panel subpoenas 7 OVP officials over budget use probe snub

The House good government and public accountability committee on Thursday issued subpoena ad testificandum to seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for refusing to attend the probe on how their office used its budget, including confidential funds.

The initial subjects of the subpoena were:

• chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez,
• lawyer Lemuel Ortonio,
• lawyer Rosalynne Sanchez,
• Gina Acosta,
• Julieta Villadelrey, and
• Edward Fajarda

Manila Representative Joel Chua, committee chairman, also made a motion to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO)  against the six in coordination with the Bureau of Immigration and the Justice department. The motion was also unanimously approved by the panel.

An ILBO instructs immigration officers to alert authorities should the subjects attempt to leave the country.

The House panel later extended the subpoena ad testificandum and corresponding ILBO to former Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, who was earlier identified by former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado as the one who delivered envelopes with money to key DepEd officials during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte as Education chief.

In response, the OVP officials said they skipped the House probe because it is not in aid of legislation as the data being asked could easily be verified through Commission on Audit reports.

“In other words, it becomes completely unnecessary for the Committee to belabor and pursue a legislative inquiry into the budget utilization and accomplishment of the Office because the data has already been provided during the budget deliberations in the Committee on Appropriations, and that further information needed may be verified through the COA,” the OVP officials said in its position paper submitted to the House panel.

“It (investigation) lacks clear legislative objective or contemplated legislation that is expected as an outcome of the deliberation. It has been the consistent position of the Office that a draft bill for consideration must at least be attached to the invitation for us to be informed of the aid that we can provide to the deliberations,” they added.

Vice President Sara Duterte earlier said that her office never misused its budget amid COA records showing the OVP spent P125 million of its confidential funds in 11 days in 2022. 

Instead, the Vice President said the inquiry is a mere test case for filing an impeachment case against her. 

"Sa totoo lang, hindi naman ang budget ang puntirya ninyo dahil napakadali naman magtanggal ng budget (In fact, you are not after the budget here because you can easily take that away). What you are trying to do is make a case for impeachment," she said.

Duterte said efforts to "destroy" her will not make her cave in.

 "So, you may try to destroy me, you can skin me alive, and throw my ashes to the wind. But let it be known, you will find me unbowed," she added.

More envelopes

Also on Thursday, former DepEd director and lawyer Resty Osias said he also received envelopes from Sunshine Fajarda, but it was a smaller amount compared to what Undersecretary Mercado received which reached P50,000 in nine instances.

“It started in April 2023. I think it was until September of that year. But if I recall it right, I was only summoned [to the office to be given envelope] about four times,” he said.

“I must say I did [receive envelopes], but I didn't know because I was new in the department, I thought it was a practice of the department. It was something like between P12,000 to P15,000, sir. Very minimal amount, sir,” he added.

GMA News Online already reached out to OVP for comment on Osias' statements but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

Mercado, a former head of Procuring Entity (HoPE) at DepEd, earlier said she received nine envelopes between February 2023 to September 2023, and that Sunshine Fajarda told her the envelopes came directly from the office of Vice President Sara Duterte.

"Galing kay VP [Sara], is what she would typically say as she hands the envelopes. It would appear that I received these envelopes by virtue of my office as HoPE. Atty. Sunshine Fajarda is the wife of Edward D. Fajarda who is the Special Disbursement Officer,” Mercado added.

Duterte has already denied Mercado's allegations even calling the latter as a "disgruntled former employee."—AOL, GMA Integrated News