VICE President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, has left the country for the United States on the eve of the resumption of a House probe into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP and DepEd.
The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, also known as the Blue Ribbon Committee, issued a stern warning to Lopez and six other OVP officials who were absent from Tuesday’s hearing, threatening contempt and arrest if they fail to appear at the next hearing.
The committee is investigating the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022 and 2023, as well as an additional P112.5 million from DepEd during VP Duterte’s time as education secretary.
The committee has issued subpoenas to the seven OVP officials, including Lopez, for their failure to respond to previous invitations. However, the officials have invoked a three-day rule for their absence, claiming that the subpoenas were not served three days prior to the hearing.
The committee, chaired by Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, has expressed frustration with the OVP officials’ continued refusal to attend the inquiry, emphasizing that other officials have responded to their invitations.
The committee has also issued subpoenas to two additional OVP officials, Budget Division Chief Edelyn Rabago and Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido.
The Commission on Audit has flagged almost half of the total funds, disallowing P73 million of the P125 million spent by the Vice President’s office in just 11 days during the last quarter of 2022.
VP Duterte has skipped subsequent hearings of the Chua committee after attending the initial hearing.
