Four officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte have been charged with contempt by a panel in the House of Representatives due to their continuous failure to attend hearings regarding questionable disbursements of intelligence and confidential funds.
During a recent hearing, Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, approved a motion by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop to charge the OVP officials with contempt.
The OVP officials, trusted personnel of Duterte, have been ordered detained for repeatedly violating subpoenas to attend investigations into the alleged misuse of government funds, particularly the confidential and intelligence funds under Duterte’s administration. The officials involved are assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio, special disbursement officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, and the married couple Edward and Sunshine Charry Fajarda, who were also involved in the Department of Education when Duterte was still the secretary.
Atty. Zuleika Lopez, Duterte’s chief of staff, was not included in the contempt charges after informing lawmakers, through a letter, that she was in Los Angeles taking care of a sick aunt. However, lawmakers raised doubts about her reason and issued another subpoena.
Acop, a retired police general and lawyer, recommended the detention of the officials within the premises of the House until the investigation concludes and the committee’s report is submitted for plenary.
Acop, a retired police general and lawyer, recommended the detention of the officials within the premises of the House until the investigation concludes and the committee’s report is submitted for plenary.
"Normally, those who are innocent, when asked for an explanation, would immediately take the chance to clear their names of any wrongdoing," Libanan remarked.
Four other OVP officials attended the hearing: administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, budget division chief Edelyn Rabago, and chief administrative officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido.
Rep. Dan Fernandez of Santa Rosa City questioned Lopez’s explanation, calling it "clear evasion," and requested that the reason for her absence be validated. “Ms. Zuleika Lopez’s testimony is important. If we accept her reason, other resource persons might do the same. They might escape, but they cannot escape now,” he said.
Deputy Speaker David Suarez expressed that he was willing to give “a little understanding” and accepted Lopez's reason based on her letter, "but only until the next hearing." He stated that the explanations from the other OVP officials were "unacceptable."
Uninvited Guest
During the same hearing, an “uninvited” OVP official attended but refused to take an oath.
Committee Chairman Chua requested the removal of Emily Torrentira, who claimed to be the chief of the OVP legal affairs department, due to her failure to present authorization to represent the OVP, according to committee secretary Sheryl Cristine Lagrosas.
During a previous hearing on September 18, Vice President Duterte herself refused to take an oath.
"She might be pretending, and the committee cannot act without proper representation in the committee," said Suarez. "First, she was not invited to attend this hearing. Second, she refused to take an oath, so we don’t know her identity and the circumstances of her attendance here, and there was no communication passed to the committee regarding her attendance," he added.
“Una, hindi siya inimbitahang dumalo sa hearing ngayon. Pangalawa, hindi siya nanumpa, kaya hindi natin alam ang kanilang pagkakakilanlan at ang mga sitwasyon ng kanyang pagdalo dito, at walang komunikasyon ang naipasa sa komite ukol sa kanyang pagdalo,” dagdag pa niya.
Torrentira explained her refusal to take an oath, stating, "No, Your Honor, I do not intend to take an oath. Before I was asked to take an oath, I tried to explain that I was not an invited resource person."
She continued, “What is being asked of me now is to explain why no subpoena was received for the people who are not here. That is what I am trying to explain,” adding that according to the Rules of Court, "service to resource persons who are given subpoenas must be personal."
"Since they were not in the office at that time, no one was available to receive on their behalf, so no proper service was given," she added.
Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod party-list), chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, remarked that Torrentira’s refusal to take an oath showed disrespect.
“May I ask the good lawyer, what is your role here? You weren’t invited, but you're here at the hearing today, and you refuse to take an oath? Why? What is the reason for your presence here?” he asked, to which Torrentira responded, “I am the chief of legal affairs of the OVP. I am here to represent the institution.”
“If you are here to represent the institution, before you speak, you must take an oath. That is recorded. You are a lawyer, you know that. You cannot speak unless you take an oath. That is the rule, the internal rules of the House and this committee,” Paduano insisted.
“You cannot speak unless you take an oath, or I will order you to leave this room.”
