Joel Chua —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua has reminded the public that Vice President Sara Duterte’s time was wasted not due to lawmakers refraining from asking her about her offices’ fund utilization but because she did not take an oath to tell the truth.
In an interview on Friday with reporters covering the House of Representatives, Chua was asked about Duterte’s claims that she left the committee’s first hearing on good government and public accountability on her offices’ fund usage issues because her time was being wasted with lawmakers not asking her questions.
However, Chua said asking the vice president questions would be impossible because all resource persons have to take an oath.
“Hindi siya nag-oath eh. So ayaw (namin), kasi under sa rules namin dapat lahat ang mga tatanungin ay mag-take ng oath. Subalit, hindi naman siya nag-oath. So, sa aming paniniwala, eh, wala rin namang magiging say-say kung ano ‘yong sasabihin niya kung di naman siya mag-take ng oath,” Chua, chair of the House committee, said.
(She did not take an oath. So we don’t want that, because, under our rules, those who we will quiz should have taken an oath. But she did not take an oath. So, to our belief, the words she will mention would not carry weight because she would not take an oath.)
At the panel’s first hearing last September 18, Duterte refused to take an oath, saying it was only required for witnesses. When Duterte was told that witnesses were “considered resource persons,” she insisted that a sworn testimony was only for witnesses.
READ: House panel excuses OVP legal chief after refusal to take oath
Chua also explained that while it is true that Duterte was not invited from the third to the fifth hearing of the committee, the panel sent out invites for the first and second hearing.
Duterte was present during the first hearing, but during this meeting, the Vice President refused to take an oath. Since Duterte did not show up at the second hearing, Chua said they did not bother to send further invitations.
“Well, actually, in-invite siya no’ng first at saka second hearing, do’n sa first hearing alam naman ninyo ‘yong nangyari, umattend siya pero ayaw naman niyang mag-take ng oath. So nagpa-excuse siya, nirespeto naman natin po siya bilang pangalawang pinakamataas na opisyal ng ating bansa,” Chua explained.
(Well, actually, we invited her for the first and second hearing, but in the first hearing, you know what happened, she attended, but she did not take an oath. So she asked to be excused, and we respect that as she is the second-highest official of our country.)
“Doon naman sa pangalawang hearing, hindi naman po siya umattend. So ‘yong third hanggang fifth hearing, hindi na po namin siya in-invite para bilang respeto sa kanya. Subalit, tama nga po ‘yong sinabi nyo doon sa Senate hearing, sinabi niya na hindi siya na-invite. Kaya, ine-extend ulit namin ‘yong invitation sa kanya,” he added.
(But for the second hearing, she did not attend. So, for the third and fifth hearings, we did not invite her anymore out of respect. hindi na po namin siya in-invite para bilang respeto sa kanya. But what you said is correct about the Senate hearing, she said she was not invited. So we extended an invitation again to her.)
During the House quad committee hearing on Wednesday, Duterte showed up supposedly to support her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was one of the resource persons for the investigation of alleged drug war atrocities.
It was at this point when members of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s secretariat approached Duterte for an invitation to the next hearing, which will be held on November 20.
READ: VP Duterte’s presence at pa’s hearing earns her another House invite
According to Chua, the committee has already made it a point to give the younger Duterte a chance to explain his side.
“The committee has gone above and beyond to make sure she has every opportunity to present her side,” Chua said.
“She declined to attend the third, fourth, and fifth hearings scheduled on Oct. 17, Nov. 5, and Nov. 11, after submitting a formal letter stating she would not be present,” Chua pointed out. “The Vice President has been given every opportunity to clarify the use of public funds in her office, particularly those that are shielded from typical auditing processes due to confidentiality.”
The committee has been investigating alleged fund misuse at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education under Duterte, including the supposed irregularities in confidential fund expenditures.
READ: Sara Duterte’s confidential fund spending raises new, more doubts
The Commission on Audit (COA) has handed out a notice of disallowance on P73.2 million of the OVP’s P125-million confidential fund for 2022 — an item which several lawmakers said should not be available in the first place, as the original budget crafted during the time of former vice president Leni Robredo did not have this item.
The observations have led the committee to check on the issues on the OVP’s budget utilization.