Castro: VP Sara has time to visit House, but not attend hearings

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and Vice President Sara Duterte (FILE) Photos from the House of Representatives

LEGAZPI, Albay — Vice President Sara Duterte apparently has the time to accompany her father at the House of Representatives premises during the quad committee hearing and visit a detained official even late at night, but not for the investigation into her office’s alleged anomalous fund utilization.

This was the observation made by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro after House officials confirmed that Duterte visited her chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, until 10:00 p.m. at the House premises before locking herself inside the office of her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte.

Castro said Duterte’s absence at the House committee hearing on good government and public accountability — after only attending the first meeting — speaks a lot about the Vice President’s views regarding transparency.

“The Vice President has time to visit and even spend the night at the House of Representatives, but apparently has no time to face the Committee and explain to the Filipino people how hundreds of millions in confidential funds were spent under her watch,” Castro said in a statement.

“This selective appearance speaks volumes about accountability and transparency,” she added.

Castro reminded Duterte that the committee is discussing alleged irregularity in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) usage of confidential funds (CFs), which are also public funds.

“It’s bewildering and a dismay that the Vice President has time to visit and spend the night in Congress but she does not have the time to face the committee to explain the use of millions of confidential funds.  These funds were sourced from the taxes paid by the Filipino people,” Castro added.

“We reiterate our call for VP Sara Duterte to attend our hearings and explain under oath. The Filipino people deserve no less than full transparency and accountability, especially concerning billions in confidential funds,” she added.

In a phone interview on Friday morning, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said that the Vice President stayed with Lopez — who was cited for contempt by the committee on good government and public accountability — until the end of visiting hours, at 10:00 p.m.

After this, Velasco said Duterte spent the night at the office of Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.  Eventually, it was revealed that the Vice President and her staffers locked themselves inside Rep. Duterte’s office, even after power had to be shut down for longstanding energy-saving policies in the House.

READ: Sara Duterte visits detained chief of staff, spends night at House 

It was Castro who moved to cite Lopez for contempt, which was approved as lawmakers found her committing undue interference in the panel’s hearings.  This was due to a letter she penned as Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief-of-staff to the Commission on Audit (COA).

READ: House panel moves to cite OVP exec Lopez for contempt 

In the letter, Lopez asked the agency to refrain from giving the House its audit observations on OVP’s confidential funds (CF) expenses.

Castro believes that Lopez and the OVP were ordering COA — which would have prevented the House from scrutinizing the office’s transactions.

Prior to the motion by Castro, lawmakers were already frustrated with Lopez, as he insisted that there were matters in the OVP that she was not privy to despite being Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief-of-staff.

Suarez in particular asked Lopez how come she insists not knowing about the OVP’s CF transactions when it was her who wrote the response to different letters and summons regarding this issue.

This includes the OVP’s answer to COA’s audit observation memorandum (AOM).

READ: Solons quiz Lopez over claims she doesn’t know OVP secret fund deals 

Castro said Duterte should just face the committee, if she is not hiding anything.

“Kung walang tinatago, bakit hindi humaharap (If they are not hiding anything, why can’t they show up)? The Vice President’s continued absence from our hearings while finding time for other House visits only reinforces public doubt about the use of these funds,” Castro said.

READ: Romualdez urges Sara Duterte to attend OVP fund probe 

Castro is not alone in the opinion that Duterte should just attend House hearings.  On Thursday, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez himself said that the Vice President should show up at the House probe, if she feels bad about her personnel having to answer questions on CF expenses.