4 subpoenaed OVP employees finally attend House hearing

The four subpoenaed Office of Vice President (OVP) employees on Monday finally showed up during the ongoing House panel inquiry on the budget use of the OVP and Department of Education when it was under Vice President Sara Duterte.

Accompanied by their lawyers, the four — Lemuel Ortonio, Gina Acosta, Sunshine Fajarda, and Eduard Fajarda — attended the hearing after being cited in contempt and amid the possible issuance of arrest warrant for their repeated absence in the hearings
 

Office of the Vice President Sara Duterte's Asst. Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, Special Disbursement Officer Gina Acosta, as well as Edward and Sunshine Fajarda have finally showed up in the ongoing House good govt & public accountability panel inquiry on OVP budget use @gmanews

— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) November 25, 2024

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability believes that the four could answer questions on the disbursement of over P612 million worth of confidential funds that the OVP and the DepEd got during Duterte's tenure.  

Manila Rep. Joel Chua, the panel's chairperson, earlier in the day said the four sent "feelers" on Sunday regarding their attendance to Monday's hearing. 

Lawmakers warned last week that the four will face criminal and administrative charges if they continue defying invitations and subpoenas issued by the House panel.

The committee resumed its hearing on Monday minus OVP chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez, who was confined due to “acute stress disorder” at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) following a standoff in Batasan Pambansa Complex in the wee hours of Saturday.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News