Sara skips truth-telling oath, cries House ‘attack’

NOT A WITNESS Vice President Sara Duterte says she is not a “witness” in the hearing called on Sept. 18 by the House committee on good government and public accountability and refuses to swear to tell the truth—or even rise from her seat—during the inquiry which she says was meant as a political attack against her. —House of Representatives Media Affairs Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — Pointing to politics as the motivation for the House inquiry into her alleged irregular use of funds, Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday defiantly refused to take the oath to be truthful in the probe, claiming that it was a “well-funded and coordinated political attack” against her supposed plans to run for president.

Several House lawmakers immediately criticized Duterte for dodging the oathtaking, considered the most basic act of accountability for public officials, saying that it indicated an intention to hide the truth.

During the initial hearing of the chamber’s committee on good government and public accountability, chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua, Duterte alleged that the panel’s inquiry was geared toward her impeachment and aimed at ruining her chances in the 2028 elections.

READ: VP Duterte told: Transparency not optional for public officials

At the start of the hearing, Duterte argued that she should not be required to take an oath before the committee because she was invited as a “resource person,” not as a “witness.” She said she studied the panel’s rules before the hearing and insisted that there was a difference between a resource person and a witness.

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo backed Duterte’s stance, citing jurisprudence. Arroyo said a person accused of wrongdoing who refuses to testify had the right against self-incrimination.

Arroyo noted that the Sept. 3 privilege speech of Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano had mentioned acts of “misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance” which the Vice President had allegedly committed.

Duterte asked for a brief recess and approached her allies Arroyo and Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta. She later told reporters that she had simply advised the former President and Marcoleta not to stress themselves on the matter.

Chua ruled to proceed with the oathtaking of all invited resource persons. “If the Vice President refuses, we will respect that,” he said.

As in a previous budget hearing, Duterte represented herself and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

The panel had invited officials concerned with the OVP’s programs and disbursements, including its satellite office heads nationwide, but only Duterte faced the committee.

In a statement she read from her cell phone, Duterte told the committee that as the Vice President, she was authorized by all OVP officials to represent them “simply because we have not done anything wrong. There is no misuse of funds.”

Take it to court

Duterte said that the OVP would “gladly” respond to findings of the Commission on Audit as well as cases filed in court.

“I take notice of the opening speeches (of congressmen) which stated there’s a determination of misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance and those are cases that should be properly taken in the courts of law,” she said.

“What we are witnessing now is no ordinary legislative inquiry. This exercise is a well-funded and coordinated political attack,” she said, citing Valeriano’s privilege speech which she claimed “simply meant to say, don’t vote for Sara” in 2028.

She said the inquiry was “solely aimed at discrediting my name and my office to prevent future political contest,” and that she was leaving the decision on the OVP’s 2025 budget to “the pleasure of Congressman (Martin) Romualdez,” the Speaker of the House.

“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.

She told the House that if the documents she had submitted to support the OVP’s proposed budget of P2.037 billion were not enough, “then by all means, don’t give” the budget as requested.

The House appropriations committee had cut more than 60 percent of her budget proposal down to just P733 million.

‘You’ll find me unbowed’

Duterte accused the good government and public accountability panel of trying to make a case for her impeachment.

“I am not running in the coming elections. I am not politicking. What I’m doing is upholding my oath of office and campaign platforms of jobs, education, and peaceful living,” she said in Filipino.

“You may try to destroy me. You can skin me alive, burn me, and throw my ashes to the wind. But let it be known: You will find me unbowed. I will continue to serve the Filipino people, no matter the personal cost or political intrigue,” she said.

The Vice President concluded: “I will not allow myself to be subjected to an inquiry-based on an empty privilege speech just so you can attack me and do indirectly what you failed to do directly during the budget hearings.”

She urged the panel to terminate its probe for its “clear lack of any proposed legislation or substantive matter for discussion.”

The Vice President’s move was similar to the action taken by her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who refused further cooperation with a Senate inquiry into the pandemic procurement deal with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. when people close to him were slowly being implicated in the alleged irregular contracts.

In October 2021, he prevented officials from attending the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings, saying they were a waste of time of officials attending to a public health emergency.

Excused

Duterte later requested to leave the hearing. She was excused by Chua, who said that she had not taken her oath anyway and that the OVP had lots of work to do.

The panel chair explained that it was the practice of the House to treat resource persons and witnesses the same and pointed out that they were required to take the oath, swearing “to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

He noted that the panel did not force the Vice President to take the oath and even allowed her to make a statement “out of respect to the office and position she represents.”

“But this does not mean we will allow this incident to become a precedent for other committee hearings. All witnesses and resource persons are required to take the oath. In fact, this is a ground for a witness to be cited in contempt,” he stressed, adding: “But out of respect (to the OVP), this was overlooked and we will let it slide.”

Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonghun, panel vice chair, pointed out that refusing to testify under oath “sends a signal that there is something to avoid.”

No mere formality

Oathtaking during a congressional inquiry shows a “basic act of accountability” for public officials, the Zambales representative said. “Taking the oath is not just a legal formality. It is a commitment to honesty. Any refusal to do so undermines trust in public statements.”

Antipolo City Rep. Reynaldo Acop said that refusing to take the oath could damage the public perception of integrity in public office.

Filipinos “deserve honesty and openness from their leaders especially where their actions are being scrutinized,” he said. “Dodging the oath gives the impression that the Vice President may not want the full truth to come out.”

He said that “transparency should never be optional for public officials.”

Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said any refusal to take an oath for a legislative hearing “goes against the power of Congress to conduct legislative inquiries.”

Outside the hearing room, Duterte told reporters that she had not considered President Marcos a friend and vowed “never again to team with the Marcoses.”

“We really never speak with each other. First, we are not friends. We only met because we were running mates,” she said in Filipino. “My real friend is Senator Imee Marcos. I’ve known her since 2012.”