Chua reminds public: Use of OVP, DepEd secret funds is the issue 

Vice President Sara Duterte finally took an oath to tell the truth during the hearing of the House of Representatives committee on good government and public accountability on Monday, November 25, 2024. Duterte attended the first hearing of the panel last September 18, but she did not take an oath, before skipping the next five meetings. Photo from House of Representatives of the Philippines live feed.

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the controversies regarding contempt orders issued against Vice President Sara Duterte’s personnel, the issue is still the utilization of the confidential funds (CF) of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

This was the reminder made by Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua on Monday, as the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability hearing on the OVP and DepEd funds resumed.

According to Chua, chairperson of the committee, the public should not be swayed by “diversionary tactics,” noting that the real cause of concern is the P612.5-million CF of the OVP and DepEd.

“With each hearing that we conduct, we are discovering anomalies on top of each other, all related to the P612.5-million confidential funds of the OVP and DepEd. And I call on the people not to allow these questions to be buried by diversionary tactics,” Chua said in Filipino in his opening speech.

“Now we continue our legislative inquiry on the matter, so we may ask the most important question, but the most important question of all, where did the P612.5 million public fund go?” he added.

Chua also noted that the officials under the Vice President have yet to explain why the DepEd under Duterte’s leadership supposedly made it seem that it was funding a youth training program, when it was the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and local government units (LGUs) that shouldered most of the expenses.

“Let us not forget that until now, we have not received a clear explanation why the officials of AFP were tricked into releasing a certification that DepEd will use their program to justify its use of confidential funds even if the AFP has not received funds from DepEd’s confidential funds,” he said in Filipino.

“And yes, it is still a mystery for the people who this Mary Grace Piattos is,” he added.

Chua was referring to clarifications from AFP officials like Army Col. Manaros Boransing that the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) — an anti-insurgency campaign for young people which DepEd claims to have allocated P15 million of its CF — was carried out using AFP and LGU funds.

Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin, a former Education undersecretary, confirmed that the DepEd did not allocate funds for the YLS since it is an AFP program.

The Commission on Audit (COA), meanwhile, said the acknowledgment receipts used by DepEd to show how the P15-million CF was spent referred to the YLS.

However, DepEd labeled this disbursement as a reward to informers.

READ: DepEd under Duterte makes it seem it’s funding AFP training – solon

Over the weekend, tensions flared inside the Batasang Pambansa complex after Duterte visited her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, who was detained at the House premises after being cited for contempt by the panel.

However, after the special visiting hour ended at 10:00 p.m., Duterte refused to leave the House. She stayed in the office of her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

When the House committee ordered the transfer of Lopez from the House detention facility to the Correctional Institute for Women, Duterte claimed that there were abuses committed.

During an online briefing on Saturday morning, Duterte also said she had talked to someone who would kill House Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos if she were to be killed.

The Vice President also threw profanities against Romualdez and the first couple in the same briefing.

READ: Sara Duterte’s kill remark vs Marcos is ‘active threat’ – Palace

House officials, including Secretary General Reginald Velasco, maintained that the actions taken by the congressional chamber were in accordance with protocols.

READ: House on VP Duterte’s chief of staff detainment: Guided by protocols