Sara Duterte’s no-show at NBI reveals her above-the-law mindset – solon

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks at the hearing of the House of Representatives committee on good government and public accountability on Monday, November 25, 2024. (File photo from House of Representatives of the Philippines’ live feed)

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s absence at the the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) — after a subpoena was issued to her — reveals the second-highest official’s mindset that she is above the law.

House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V made the statement on Friday.

Duterte was expected to appear before the NBI after a subpoena was issued to her.

She is under investigation for saying that she had instructed someone to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, in case she gets killed.

However, the NBI earlier said the vice president had asked to reschedule her appearance.

“By refusing to comply with the subpoena, she is sending a message: ‘The law doesn’t apply to me.’ That is not leadership. That is arrogance,” Ortega said.

“Her refusal is an insult to every ordinary Filipino who follows the law. If an ordinary citizen ignored a subpoena, he would face consequences immediately,” Ortega said.

“Why should the Vice President be any different?” he asked.

According to NBI Director Jaime Santiago, Duterte’s lawyer asked for a rescheduling due to an ongoing hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

The panel is looking into the alleged fund misuse hounding the vice president’s offices — the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

The House hearing was scheduled for Friday, but the committee announced on Thursday that it had decided to postpone the proceeding so that Duterte could accommodate the NBI’s invitation.

READ: House panel postpones hearing so VP Duterte could heed NBI subpoena 

Santiago said Duterte’s lawyer explained that they were informed late by the House panel. The meeting was reset to December 11 as a result.

Duterte stirred controversy due to her actions at the House of Representatives last November 22.

After visiting Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, her chief-of-staff who was detained at the House premises, she locked herself inside the office of her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

Due to the security problems that came with Duterte’s stay inside the Batasang Pambansa, the House committee decided to transfer Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women.

Duterte held a press briefing early Saturday morning wherein she claimed that she had tasked someone to assassinate the president, the first lady and the speaker.

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

Duterte’s remarks came after the House panel continued its investigation of issues involving confidential funds (CFs) of the OVP and the DepEd, amid several observations from the Commission on Audit (COA).

Last Monday, it was revealed at the panel’s hearings that the special disbursing officers of OVP and DepEd left the disbursement of CFs to the security officers.

1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez believes this move can be tantamount to technical malversation.

READ: Solon: SDO’s move to give up fund release role may lead to malversation 

The COA previously handed out a notice of disallowance on P73.2 million of the OVP’s P125-million CF for 2022.

There were also questions about the low number of classrooms constructed while Duterte was education secretary.

It was also disclosed that the DepEd, under Duterte, supposedly made it seem that its CFs were used for a youth training program.

However, it was the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units that shouldered the expenses.

There are speculations that fictitious personalities — such as a certain Mary Grace Piattos — were used to authenticate acknowledgement receipts (ARs) of OVP’s expenditures, particularly those expenses involving CFs.