Vice President Sara Duterte has once again skipped the continuation of inquiry of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into the budget utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) citing reasons behind her absence.
In her letter addressed to Congressman Joel R. Chua, chairperson on the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability in the House of Representatives (HOR), the vice president informed the latter that the OVP will not be attending the deliberation hinting the same is a useless exercise.
Duterte stated that the inquiry is based on unsubstantiated allegations contained in a privileged speech by Cong. Rolando Valeriano who cited that the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budget of the OVP were concentrated in the National Capital Region.
“He also cast doubt on the reported beneficiaries and strategic partnerships. Such claims can be easily verified through the accomplishment reports submitted by the OVP to support its 2025 budget proposal, and confirmed through various news reports, COA reports and postings on various social media platforms. Clearly, the conduct of a formal inquiry or hearing on the matter is unnecessary,” Duterte said.
The vice president added that should there be a need for a formal inquiry to be made, then a draft house bill should at least be presented to ensure that the discussions would be germane to the subject matter.
“In fact, the invitation of the Committee itself lacks any clear legislative objective or contemplated legislation that is expected as an outcome of the deliberations,” she said.
The vice president said other reasons for not showing up in the inquiry is that the Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation (Rules) of the HOR do not conform to the Constitution and violate the rights, privacy and dignity of persons appearing therein; and the respect for the rights of persons appearing in such inquiries has been well-settled.
“Inquiries should not be adversarial nor prosecutorial and should recognize the right of persons to refuse to participate in the crafting of laws. The HOR cannot compel people to participate in the legislative process and such right is protected by the Constitution,” Duterte stated.
Lastly, Duterte cited that discussion of issues pending before the Supreme Court should not be discussed before the HOR.
“Lest we violate the rule on subjudice, or the rule that restricts comments and disclosures pertaining to judicial proceedings. Speaking or commenting on the matter may directly or indirectly impede, obstruct or degrade the administration of justice. The OVP has been filing its comments in response to the various petitions filed before the Supreme Court,” the vice president stated.
