7 OVP officials receive ‘final’ subpoena from House

House of Representatives (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Filane Mikee Cervantes, Zaldy De Layola, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The House of Representatives’ Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Tuesday reissued a subpoena ad testificandum to seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) after they failed to appear before the panel’s inquiry for the fourth time.

Committee chair and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua warned the OVP officials that another absence in the next hearing could result in more severe consequences, including contempt charges and possible arrest.

The OVP officials are Undersecretary and chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chair Lemuel Ortonio, Administrative and Financial Services Director Rosalynne Sanchez, Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, and former Department of Education (DepEd) Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda and former SDO Edward Fajarda.

The committee was informed that Lopez left the country on the eve of the latest hearing.

Lopez passed through the immigration counter at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Parañaque City at 7:31 p.m. on Monday.

She reportedly boarded Philippine Airlines flight PR 102 bound for Los Angeles, California, at approximately 10:25 p.m.

Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, who moved for the re-issuance, cited the three-day rule under which a subpoena must be issued and received three days prior to a hearing.

The seven OVP officers invoked the rule for their absence, among other reasons, in a joint position paper sent to the committee on Monday.

The committee staff said the subpoenas were served at the OVP offices over the weekend but a legal assistant refused to accept them.

Chua said he could not understand why OVP officials continue to refuse to attend its inquiry while other have responded to invites.

“But to accommodate them, and to comply with our three-day rule as pointed out by Congressman Paduano, we will reissue the subpoenas,” Chua said.

The committee is seeking the explanations of the seven OVP officers on the alleged misuse of PHP500 million in confidential intelligence funds and an additional PHP112.5 million of DepEd when Vice President Sara Duterte was Education secretary.

The Commission on Audit has flagged almost half of the total and disallowed PHP73 million of the PHP125 million spent by the OVP in just 11 days during the last quarter of 2022.

Poa no longer OVP spokesperson

Meanwhile, Michael Poa told the House panel that he is no longer the OVP spokesperson.

“I would like to inform the honorable committee that I am no longer connected with the Office of the Vice President,” Poa said, adding his consultancy contract was pre-terminated.

Poa was the spokesperson and chief of staff of Duterte at DepEd.

He said Fajarda has the sole authority over DepEd’s confidential funds.

Poa had previously outlined to the committee that, as a spokesperson, he was responsible for addressing media queries but was not involved in the decision-making processes around confidential fund disbursements.

Meanwhile, DepEd chief accountant Ma. Rhunna Catalan testified that she received envelopes containing PHP25,000 on nine occasions from Duterte during her tenure at DepEd from February to September 2023.

DepEd Director and former BAC chair Resty Osias and former undersecretary Gloria Mercado had similar admissions in previous hearings.

Osias told the committee he received envelopes containing between PHP12,000 and PHP15,000 from April to September 2023, delivered through Fajarda.

Osias indicated that he initially thought it was “common practice” in the department.

“I didn’t know why I was summoned to the office of Asec Shine (Fajarda). And then, I was given an envelope. It was later on I found out there was money in it. It’s not because I was BAC member yet, because I wasn’t at that time,” Osias said.

Mercado disclosed she received nine envelopes from Duterte containing PHP50,000 each while she was DepEd’s Head of Procuring Entity.

Valenzuela 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano earlier noted that the timing of the distributions coincided with increased scrutiny over DepEd’s confidential funds.