LIVE: Sixth House hearing on OVP, DepEd confidential fund

MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is holding its sixth hearing today, November 20, on the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

This follows Rep. Rolando Valeriano's (Manila, 2nd District) privilege speech asserting Congress’ "Power of the Purse," which called on Vice President Sara Duterte and her office to justify their confidential fund expenditures.

The inquiry began after Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District) raised concerns about DepEd’s alleged delivery of substandard computer units and other budget issues.

Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), chair of the House Blue Ribbon Committee, is leading the deliberations. The panel has been investigating the OVP’s use of P500 million in confidential funds from late 2022 to the third quarter of 2023. DepEd’s P112.5 million in secret funds is also under scrutiny.

OVP officials have resisted the probe, arguing that the inquiry lacks a clear legislative purpose. Only four of the subpoenaed officials appeared at the committee's fifth hearing on November 11. Vice President Duterte, who refused to take an oath the first time she appeared, declined to attend again.

Three DepEd officials recently testified that they received cash envelopes containing amounts ranging from P10,000 to P50,000 during Duterte’s brief stint as education secretary in 2023.

The committee is expecting OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and special disbursing officer Gina Acosta to appear today. Lopez was excused during the previous hearing, while Acosta was cited in contempt and ordered detained for her refusal to cooperate.

Lawmakers have raised doubts about the OVP’s submitted acknowledgment receipts, pointing to numerous inconsistencies such as typographical errors, mismatched dates, similar handwriting and suspicious names like “Mary Grace Piattos.”

Other findings include P16 million in rental and maintenance expenses for 34 OVP safehouses over just 11 days in December 2022. The committee also found out that DepEd’s so-called “youth leadership summits” reportedly did not receive funding from the Philippine Army, which had been tasked with their implementation.