DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV. —Arnel Tacson, INQUIRER.net file photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday issued an immigration lookout bulletin order (Ilbo) on seven officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) who have been snubbing the congressional inquiry into the alleged misuse of government funds in 2022 and 2023.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla signed the Ilbo authorizing the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to monitor the travel of the OVP officials, DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV told reporters.
The order, which takes effect immediately, applies to Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, who reportedly departed for Los Angeles on Monday night; Lemuel Ortonio, assistant chief of staff; lawyer Rosalynne Sanchez, director of the administrative and financial services office; special disbursing officer Gina Acosta; former Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, and her husband, former Department of Education (DepEd) disbursing officer Edward Fajarda.
READ: House: 1 of 7 OVP officials linked to alleged fund misuse left PH
The order instructs immigration officers to check if arrest warrants are pending against them and to notify authorities if they try to leave the country.
Lawmaker’s request
“I would like to reiterate that this Ilbo is not a restriction on their right to travel, but merely a monitoring mechanism through which we can see if they have left or entered the country,” Clavano said.
Asked if the DOJ would share this information with the House of Representatives, Clavano said the travel details of individuals under the Ilbo are internal to the agency unless the chamber requests them.
“To issue an Ilbo—it does not, by any stretch of imagination, force them to attend a particular hearing whether it be in Congress, the Senate, or in court,” Clavano noted.
On Oct. 17, the House issued subpoenas to the seven OVP officials for failure to attend the probe regarding their office’s budget use, specifically the millions of pesos in confidential funds.
On Sunday, Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House good government committee, requested the DOJ to place them on immigration lookout after receiving reports they might be planning to leave the country.
In a letter to Remulla, Chua stressed the importance of their testimonies to the House inquiry as he called for an urgent Ilbo.
‘Impeach’ talk premature
At the House, Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong urged the OVP officials to appear before the committee and clarify the allegations, including those pointing to malversation of public funds.
The Lanao del Sur representative said that due to their evasiveness and the earlier testimonies coming from DepEd officials, the public would perceive that malversation was indeed committed.
But Adiong stressed that any impeachment move on Duterte was still premature and that it it was not within the committee’s purview.
“The objective of the committee on good government is not to impeach the Vice President. Let’s be clear on that. Now, whether this will lead to an impeachment or not, I think it’s premature to say at the very least. We still have to hear from other resource persons. We still have to establish the circumstances,” House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre said.
Validation
But for House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas, Duterte’s impeachment was already warranted by her office’s use of deficient acknowledgment receipts to try to justify spending P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days on December 2022.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro also observed that out of P15.5 million in confidential funds allotted for DepEd during Duterte’s tenure as secretary, only P4.2 million was liquidated covering the agency’s anti-insurgency program, while expenditures for other programs, including abuse prevention and control within schools, anti-illegal activities operation, and anti-extremism/terrorism, for which the confidential funds were issued, were unaccounted.
The House also welcomed as a validation of its work the Senate’s adoption of its decision to cut P1.2 billion from next year’s proposed budget of the OVP, debunking Duterte’s claim it was a political move.
In a statement, House committee on appropriations chair Elizaldy Co lauded the Senate for upholding the cut in the OVP’s 2025 appropriation and aligning with the House’s position that a significant portion of OVP programs overlapped with those of the health and social welfare departments.
“We’re grateful that the Senate has shown a commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency,” said Co of the party-list group Ako Bicol.
Part of the cut involved a reduction in the OVP’s satellite office rental expenses, which in 2023 reportedly ballooned to P53 million for 12 locations nationwide, from just P4.1 million under the previous Vice President, Leni Robredo.