MANILA, Philippines —  Four officials of the Office of the Vice President under Sara Duterte have been cited in contempt by a panel of the House of Representatives for again failing to personally appear at a hearing on the questionable disbursement of her intelligence and confidential funds.

Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, approved at yesterday’s hearing the motion of Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop to cite the OVP officials in contempt.

The OVP officials, all trusted aides of Duterte, were ordered detained for repeatedly defying summonses to attend an inquiry into the alleged mishandling of government funds, specifically confidential and intelligence funds, by Duterte.

The officials are assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio, special disbursement officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, and spouses Edward and Sunshine Charry Fajarda, SDO and assistant secretary of the Department of Education when Duterte was still education secretary.

Lawyer Zuleika Lopez, Duterte’s chief of staff, was spared from the contempt charges after she informed lawmakers – in a letter – that she is in Los Angeles caring for her sick aunt.

Lawmakers expressed doubt on Lopez’s excuse and re-issued another subpoena.

Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan advised Lopez to grab the opportunity to defend herself and appear before the congressional hearings at the soonest time possible, as the Chua committee continues to investigate alleged misuse of public funds of the OVP.

“Normally, individuals who are blameless, when asked to explain, would seize the first available occasion to clear themselves of any wrongdoing,” Libanan, who represents the party-list 4Ps, said in a statement.

Acop, a retired police general who is also a lawyer by profession, moved to detain the officials at the House premises until the inquiry concludes and a committee report is submitted for plenary approval.

Four other OVP officials attended yesterday’s hearing: administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, budget division chief Edelyn Rabago and chief administrative officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido.

Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez questioned Lopez’s explanation, calling it a “clear evasion” and sought validation of her excuse to skip the hearing. “The testimony of Ms. Zuleika Lopez is crucial. If we allow her excuse, other resource persons might follow. They can run, but they cannot hide anymore,” he said.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez said he was willing to extend “a little bit more understanding” and accepted Lopez’s excuse as stated in her letter, “but only until our next hearing.” The excuses the other OVP officials gave were “unacceptable,” he said.

Uninvited guest

Also at yesterday’s hearing, an “uninvited” OVP official showed up but refused to speak under oath when asked to say her piece.

Committee chairman Chua sought to dismiss from the hearing Emily Torrentira, purportedly chief of the OVP legal affairs department, for failing to show authorization to represent the OVP, as reported by committee secretary Sheryl Cristine Lagrosas.

During the Sept. 18 hearing of the committee, the Vice President herself refused to take the oath.

“For all we know, she could be somebody posing for somebody, and the committee cannot act on mere presentation without proper representation to the said committee,” Suarez said.

“Number one, she was not invited to attend today’s hearing. Number two, she did not take her oath, so we don’t even know the personalities and the circumstances as to why she is here, and no communication was forwarded to the committee as to her attendance,” he added.

Torrentira, meanwhile, explained her reason for not taking the oath. “No, your Honor, I am not refusing to take the oath. Prior to being asked to take the oath, I was trying to explain that I am not an invited resource person,” she said.

“I’ve only been asked now to explain why there was no receipt of subpoena for the persons who are not present here. That is what I have been trying to say,” she said, adding that based on the Rules of Court, “personal service must be made to resource persons who are being issued subpoena.”

“They being not present in the office at that time, no person can receive on their behalf and hence there will be no proper service,” she said.

Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod party-list), chairman of the House committee on public accounts, said Torrentira’s refusal to take the oath was a show of disrespect.

“May I ask the good attorney, what is your role in this, you were not invited but you are present in today’s hearing but you never take your oath? Why? What is your presence here for?” he asked, to which she replied: “I am the chief of legal affairs of OVP. I am here to represent the institution.”

“So you are here to represent the institution. You should, before talking, you should take your oath. Because that is on record. You’re a lawyer, you know that, you cannot speak unless until you take your oath. That’s the rule, internal rules of this House and of this committee,” Paduano insisted.

“You can’t speak unless you take your oatharatbet, or else I will move to excuse you from this room.

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