Vice President Sara Duterte expressed her sympathy for her staff caught up in the ongoing House hearings about the use of confidential funds. She said the hardest part for her is seeing her team get dragged into political attacks. “Politicians will destroy your name just to get ahead in the race,” Duterte explained.
The controversy started when Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was found in contempt by the House for signing a letter asking the Commission on Audit not to follow a subpoena regarding the OVP’s confidential funds. Speaker Martin Romualdez suggested that Duterte herself should attend the hearings and explain how the funds were spent, rather than putting the burden on her officials.
Duterte previously attended the hearings but refused to swear an oath, claiming that the inquiry was being used to build a case for her impeachment. She also stated that defending her office’s 2025 budget was pointless because Romualdez controlled the budget process. Romualdez and his allies have denied these claims.
The controversy continues to stir, with the next inquiry set for November 25. So far, investigations have revealed that the OVP spent millions of pesos in 2022 for safehouses using confidential funds. They also found issues with receipts, dates, and signatories when the funds were liquidated.
