An official linked to alleged misuse of government funds within the Office of the Vice President (OVP) fled the Philippines on Monday night, House committee secretary Sheryl Lagrosas informed lawmakers during a hearing on Tuesday. According to Lagrosas, Attorney Zuleika Lopez, one of the seven OVP officials facing scrutiny, departed for Los Angeles, USA, boarding Philippine Airlines flight PR102 at 7:31 p.m. from Manila.
This revelation surfaced amid a broader investigation by the House Committee on Good Governance into the OVP’s spending practices under Vice President Sara Duterte. Following subpoenas for these officials—who had repeatedly missed previous hearings—the committee urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue lookout bulletins to prevent their departure from the country. The DOJ’s involvement aims to ensure the presence of these officials as witnesses for the ongoing probe.
Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua, who chairs the panel, disclosed that several OVP officials, including Assistant Chief of Staff and Bids and Awards Committee Chair Lemuel Ortonio, Administrative and Financial Services Director Rosalynne Sanchez, Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, Chief Accountant Juleita Villadelrey, former Department of Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda, and SDO Edward Fajarda, were also subjects of concern for possible international travel. These officials, as noted by the committee, play crucial roles in the investigation due to their potential testimonies about fund usage within the OVP.
The committee’s probe follows a privilege speech by Manila 2nd District Representative Rolando Valeriano, who highlighted alleged fund mismanagement by the OVP under Duterte, citing findings from the Commission on Audit (COA). According to Valeriano, COA reported that over PHP 73 million of the PHP 125 million confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022 had been disallowed. The COA report detailed that this disallowed amount, nearly 60% of the total allocation, was spent over just 11 days, from December 21 to December 31, 2022, averaging more than PHP 11 million per day.
COA’s Notice of Disallowance mandates Vice President Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey as accountable officers, to return the disallowed PHP 73 million to the government. The committee’s investigation aims to clarify the disallowed expenditures and establish accountability within the OVP, as public interest mounts over the alleged rapid fund usage and the potential misconduct tied to public funds.