LEADERS of the House of Representatives’ “Young Guns” on Friday strongly criticized Vice President Sara Duterte for what they called a blatant attempt to dodge accountability by using her staff as a “buffer” to deflect scrutiny over her alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds.
“The Vice President must stop hiding behind her staff. They are not her bulletproof vest. Only she holds the answers to how these funds were spent, and it’s time for her to face Congress and take responsibility,” said House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union’s 1st District.
House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun of Zambales’ 1st District accused Duterte of “throwing her staff under the bus” to protect herself from the mounting backlash.
“Her staff are not scapegoats for her to sacrifice whenever things get tough. If she truly believes in accountability, she must stop passing the burden to others and come clean to the Filipino people,” Khonghun said.
The two lawmakers criticized Duterte for sending career officials to answer questions from members of the House Blue Ribbon Committee—officials who they argued lack direct involvement in the management of the funds in question.
“Linawin natin: hindi mga tauhan ni VP Sara ang gumawa ng desisyon. Siya ang may pananagutan. Sa pagpapadala ng ibang tao para sagutin ang mga tanong, hindi lang siya umiiwas sa responsibilidad—ipinapakita rin niya ang kakulangan niya bilang pinuno,” Ortega said.
The House Blue Ribbon Committee is investigating the alleged misuse of ₱500 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and ₱112.5 million by the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s leadership.
The panel, formally called Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, has so far conducted six public hearings on the issue.
Duterte has attended only the first, where she refused to take an oath, delivered a prepared statement criticizing the probe, and left without answering questions from lawmakers.
Key OVP officials close to Duterte—Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta, and husband-and-wife Edward and Sunshine Charry Fajarda—have repeatedly ignored summonses, leading to contempt citations and arrest orders.
The probe took a dramatic turn when OVP Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez appeared at the sixth hearing under subpoena.
Her evasive responses led to her being cited in contempt and detained by the House for “undue interference in the proceedings.”
Khonghun blasted Duterte’s tactics, describing them as “a weak attempt to deflect responsibility.”
“Sa paggamit niya sa kanyang mga staff bilang panangga, hindi lang siya umiiwas sa pananagutan—pinahihina rin niya ang integridad ng pampublikong serbisyo. Isang insulto ito sa bawat Pilipinong naghahangad ng katapatan mula sa kanilang mga lider,” Khonghun said.
Ortega called on Duterte to stop evading and face Congress. “Walang lider na karapat-dapat sa kanyang posisyon ang gagamit ng kanyang tauhan bilang pader para iwasan ang mahihirap na tanong. Siya ang may pananagutan, at siya ang dapat magpaliwanag,” he stressed.
