No misuse of funds, VP Sara maintains at House inquiry
2024-Sep-18 17:00
2024-Sep-19 13:09
VP IN CONGRESS. Vice President Sara Duterte attends the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on her office's budget utilization on Wednesday (Sept. 18, 2024). Duterte maintained that the Office of the Vice President had done nothing wrong, stressing that there was "no misuse of funds". (PNA/House Press and Public Affairs Bureau)
MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday asserted that there was "no misuse of funds" as she faced a congressional inquiry on her office's budget utilization.
During the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, Duterte maintained that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) had done nothing wrong.
"There is no misuse of funds. If there are audit findings, we shall gladly respond to them before the Commission on Audit. And if there are legitimate cases to be filed, then we shall gladly respond to them before the appropriate courts," Duterte said.
She reiterated her decision not to defend the OVP's 2025 budget, leaving it to the discretion of the leadership of the House of Representatives.
"I am not asking for any special treatment, nor am I asking you to uphold any tradition. There is no disrespect. All I am saying is that you have the complete freedom to do whatever you wish to the OVP budget," she said.
Duterte refused to take the oath to tell the truth at the start of the hearing on the alleged misuse by her office of millions in funds for socio-economic programs.
She invoked the committee's rules on inquiries in aid of legislation under which she said only witnesses were given the oath, arguing that she attended as a resource person.
Former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to Duterte's defense, citing a Supreme Court ruling and a Senate precedent wherein a witness is given more protection than a resource person since the former may find himself or herself as an accused.
Committee chair and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua then ruled that the former president's remarks were noted.
Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano, in his remarks, stressed that the congressional inquiry was necessary due to the lack of evidence regarding how the OVP spent the budgets on socioeconomic programs from July 2022 to the present.
Valeriano said Duterte's refusal to answer questions regarding OVP's proposed budget for 2025 and the "questionable" utilization of the office's previous budgets that were flagged by the Commission on Audit are the reasons why the hearing was conducted.
He said the OVP had not submitted documents to support its claims of socioeconomic programs benefiting over two million individuals in the National Capital Region.
Chua, meanwhile, highlighted Congress' vital role in overseeing government spending.
"We have to ensure that funds are spent solely for purposes for which they have been appropriated," Chua said.
Chua said the congressional oversight function does not end with the passage of the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Duterte asked Chua to terminate the hearing at the end of her remarks, but the committee chairperson told the Vice President he could not abruptly end the hearing because his panel had just decided to take cognizance of and jurisdiction over Valeriano's speech on September 3 regarding the OVP's budget utilization.
Duterte left the hearing minutes after delivering her statement. (PNA)