House panel to 7 OVP execs: Appear or face arrest

MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Good Governance has issued a warning to seven officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), stating they will face arrest if they fail to attend the upcoming hearing on the alleged misuse of public funds.

In a statement, Rep. Joel Chua (Manila 3rd district), chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, gave an ultimatum to the subpoenaed OVP officials to attend the panel’s hearing on Monday, November 11.

This warning follows the officials’ failure to appear at a House probe into the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds by the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd).

According to Chua, failure to attend the hearing will lead to an arrest order.

“The committee has summoned these officials multiple times, yet they continue to disregard our lawful requests to appear,” Chua said in a statement. “These absences reflect a blatant disregard for the authority of Congress and are unacceptable. If they fail to appear again, we are prepared to issue orders for their arrest.”

Among the seven officials, only Rosalynne Sanchez, OVP’s administrative and financial service director, and Julieta Villadelrey, OVP’s chief accountant, have confirmed their attendance at the Monday hearing.

On November 6, the Department of Justice issued an immigration lookout bulletin to monitor the officials' movements in case they attempt to leave the country.

Aside from Sanchez and Villadelrey, the following officials are also included in the lookout bulletin:

• Zuleika Lopez — OVP chief of staff
• Lemuel Ortonio — assistant chief of staff and Bids and Awards Committee chair, OVP
• Gina Acosta — special disbursing officer, OVP
• Sunshine Charry Fajarda — former DepEd assistant secretary
• Edward Fajarda — DepEd special disbursing officer, now with the OVP

The House panel is investigating claims of improper use of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP and DepEd during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure.

The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged more than P73 million of the P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022, which accounts for nearly 60% of the total.

State auditors revealed that this amount was spent within 11 days, from December 21 to 31, 2022, averaging over P11 million daily.