House Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson, Manila Representative Joel Chua, expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation from key officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) regarding the alleged irregular use of confidential funds. During a committee hearing on Wednesday, Chua emphasized that only members of Vice President Sara Duterte’s “inner circle” could provide clarity on the issue, but these key officials, including those responsible for managing the funds, have not attended the hearings.
“Today, we continue our pursuit of the truth and our attempts to make sense of the way in which hundreds of millions of public funds were used,” Chua stated in his opening remarks. He observed that while some OVP career officials had attended previous hearings, their knowledge of the confidential funds was limited, adding, “At this point, magbibigay lamang ako ng isang obserbasyon muna – tila ang mga napadalang representatives ng OVP ay unti lamang ang nalalaman tungkol sa Confidential Funds. Kung ito ba ay dahil sa kanilang status bilang career officials at hindi mga nasa ‘inner circle’ ng Bise-Presidente, hindi pa natin alam.”
Chua pointed out that Vice President Duterte and Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta are directly responsible for managing these funds, but both have avoided attending the hearings despite repeated invitations. He stressed that this lack of participation hindered the investigation’s progress.
The committee’s investigation revealed that confidential funds were being used to augment regular programs, raising concerns about their intended purpose. “Nagmukhang ang confidential funds ay ginagamit upang mag-augment ng pondo ng regular na programa ng OVP at hindi ginagamit sa hiwalay na programang may kinalaman talaga sa confidential expenses o surveillance activities to support the mandate or operations of the agency,” Chua stated.
Chua also revealed that the OVP’s expenses had surged by over 400%, largely due to the operations of satellite offices. “Ang mga satellite offices ng OVP ay kumokonsumo sa higit kalahati ng pondo ng OVP,” he said, noting that officials overseeing these offices have avoided attending the hearings. Chua pointed out discrepancies in the use of confidential funds despite existing guidelines under Joint Circular No. 2015-01. He called for legislative reforms, saying, “Ito marahil ang dapat gawan ng batas – bumalangkas ng panukalang magbibigay direksyon sa mga ahensiya sa paggamit ng confidential funds at anong aktibidad ang confidential activities, at ang tamang pagsusuri nito ng ating mga ahensiya na may oversight.” He underscored the need for accountability and transparency in managing public funds.
