MANILA, Philippines — A committee of the House of Representatives has requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a lookout bulletin covering seven officials in the office of Vice President Sara Duterte as the panel resumes its probe on her alleged misuse of funds.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, made the request after these officials in the Office of the Vice President repeatedly refused to honor invitations and subpoenas for them to shed light on alleged financial irregularities in the OVP.
The Chua panel will resume its inquiry on the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds of Duterte in the OVP as well as when she was secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) from July 2022 to July 19 this year.
Those who have been requested to be included in the immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) are OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff and bids and awards committee chairman Lemuel Ortonio, administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, special disbursing officers Gina Acosta and Edward Fajarda, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey and former DepEd assistant secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda.
Chua, along with other members of the committee, including Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano, whose privilege speech triggered the probe, want these OVP officials to be compelled to testify after their repeated absences from prior hearings and potential involvement in financial irregularities.
An ILBO instructs immigration officers to alert authorities should the subjects attempt to leave the country.
This is so because only a hold-departure order and a warrant of arrest issued by the courts can prevent any accused or defendant from leaving the country.
The Fajarda couple were close aides to Duterte during her tenure as education secretary from July 2022 until she resigned on July 19.
In his recent letter to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Chua said the testimonies of these OVP officials are crucial to the investigation and to ensuring accountability for public funds.
Chua noted that his panel has received information indicating that these individuals may be preparing to leave the country.
“Considering these developments, I earnestly request your office to issue a lookout bulletin order against these personalities,” Chua stated in his letter to Remulla.
“This action is imperative to monitor their movements and prevent any potential attempt to flee the country, which could significantly hinder our investigation and broader efforts to uphold the integrity of public service,” Chua added.
The investigation by Chua’s committee originated from a privilege speech delivered by Valeriano, who accused Duterte of fund mismanagement in the OVP based on findings by the Commission on Audit.
The COA disallowed over P73 million of the P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022 amounting to nearly 60 percent of the total.
Even more alarming, the COA reported that this amount was spent within just 11 days, from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022, averaging over P11 million per day.
In its Notice of Disallowance, the COA ordered Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey as “accountable officials,” to return the disallowed P73 million to the government.
Since the inquiry began, none of the seven OVP officials have attended the hearings.