The Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Chair and Manila Rep. Joel Chua urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a lookout bulletin over the six subpoenaed Office of the Vice President (OVP) officials.
During the mid-October probe into Vice President Sara Duterte’s questionable fund spending on the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd), six of the OVP officers were summoned by the panel to justify the said actions. According to lawmakers, the money spent by Duterte came from the two sectors’ budget and was not used accordingly.
The OVP officials were asked to attend the probe in the VP’s place, as she repeatedly rejected the invitation by the panel. A subpoena was issued against them instead, due to their repeated absences.
The Committee issued a subpoena against the following OVP officials:
- Chief-of-Staff Zuleika Lopez
- Assistant Chief-of-Staff and Bids and Awards Chairperson Lemuel Ortinio
- Director for Administrative and Financial Services Rosalynne Sanchez
- Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta
- Chief Accountant Julieta Vailldelry
- Edward Fajarda
Moreover, the lawmaker also stressed the importance of getting a testimony from the mentioned officers. Chua pushed DOJ Secretary Crispin Remulla to aid the Committee in seeking accountability for the questionable spending of government funds.
In September, Duterte mentioned that she would no longer attend the Committee’s probe on fund spending due to ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ from the panel. However, Chua reiterated that the issue of the misuse of funds is a matter of public interest.
