VP Sara’s good governance program included payment of safe houses

The office of Vice President Sara Duterte implemented a good governance program that included a P16 million confidential fund expense for maintenance of safe houses, OVP officials said Monday.

During the House committee on good government and public accountability inquiry on budget use of OVP and Education Department under Duterte, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro raised the August 2022 request of OVP for P250 million confidential fund for its Good Governance program with an expected outcome of safe implementation of OVP initiatives and confidence building. 

OVP Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Gerome Tenido confirmed the existence of the document.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) eventually granted the OVP a P125 million confidential fund, of which P16 million was used within 11 days as payment for safe houses based on OVP submissions to the Commission on Audit.

Asked by Luistro if former Vice President Leni Robredo also had a good governance program that did not include confidential fund, OVP Director of Administrative and Finance Services lawyer Rosalynne Sanchez said, “Yes.”

Asked again as to the reason the OVP’s good governance program under Duterte suddenly included payments for maintenance of safe houses using confidential fund, Sanchez said she “does not have information on the specific details and items to be spent under the confidential fund.”

Pressed if this means the OVP under Duterte altered the good governance program menu of Robredo, Sanchez replied that it is not prohibited.

“I think that would be a possible explanation. From my understanding, Your Honor, yes, that [alteration] may be allowed because in the budget [request] of the OVP [submitted in 2022], there is a general term only, which is the good governance program,” she said.

Luistro then said it is clear that the OVP under Duterte implemented a good governance program that spent confidential funds on maintenance of safe houses.

“What is clear [here is that] the program Good Governance under Vice President Duterte, some may include confidential fund and maintenance of safe houses, items which were never seen and which were never included in the program of Vice President Robredo,” the lawmaker said.

During the hearing, Tenido also confirmed that the OVP’s 2022 request for a P250 million confidential fund stated that the office intends to spend such budget in 90 days.

Since the DBM only granted P125 million out of the OVP’s initial request of P250 million confidential funds, Luistro asked Tenido if the office should have spent it within 45 days.

Tenido said he cannot say for sure but conceded Luistro's point.

“I cannot tell that the amount of P125 million expenses to be incurred for the last quarter of 2022 is supposed to be spent in half the number of days, but it is a reasonable interpretation,” he said.

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro called out Tenido for endorsing the request for P250 million confidential funds merely on a one liner stating “with an expected outcome of safe implementation of OVP initiatives and confidence building.”

“We can see that such an incident alone tells us that the budget officer [Tenido] has been very lenient. The proceeds of the requested budget were not even specified. Does he not realize that he is asking for such a big amount here? Don’t you think you are accountable here?” Castro said.

“Did you not use discernment here to figure out how this fund will be used? Remember, this P125 million was used in 11 days for 105 activities of the Vice President. Did you even see these? That is why I am telling you that you are one of the accountable officers here,” she added.

Tenido said that he was not part of the decision makers and checkers of the confidential fund use even if he was part of the requesting party.

“I have no knowledge on the utilization of the confidential fund,” he said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News