The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability held four executives from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in contempt for their repeated failure to attend the panel inquiry regarding the budget utilization of the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte's leadership.
Previously, the House Committee reported that they initially invited nine officials from both the OVP and DepEd.
The four officials cited in contempt by the committee are:
- Lemuel Ortonio, OVP Assistant Chief of Staff
- Gina Acosta, OVP Special Disbursing Officer
- Edward Fajarda, former DepEd Special Disbursing Officer
- Sunshine Fajarda, former DepEd Assistant Secretary
During the Committee's hearing on Monday, House Deputy Speaker David “Jay-Jay” Suarez moved to cite the four officials in contempt after the Committee Secretariat revealed that they ignored the panel's invitations and the subpoena ad testificandum multiple times.
The four OVP officials will remain detained at the House of Representatives premises at the Batasang Pambansa Complex until the committee submits its final report on the matter to the plenary.
Furthermore, OVP Chief-of-Staff Zuleika Lopez was also absent from the hearing, explaining that she is still in the United States taking care of a sick relative.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) previously issued an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against the seven subpoenaed officials from the OVP, following a request from the House Committee.
