House leaders issued a strong rebuke of Vice President Sara Duterte’s repeated dismissal of the House investigation into her alleged mismanagement of hundreds of millions in government funds, which she has labeled as “politically motivated”.
They argued that Duterte’s insistence that “no wrongdoing has been proven” appears to be a diversion tactic to sidestep the core issue of transparency and accountability, especially as the documents under scrutiny are based on official records from the Commission on Audit (COA).
“This is not about politics. This is about accountability and transparency,” Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which is investigating the alleged misuse of public funds, said in a press release from the Office of Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, chair of the Committee on Public Order and Safety, also dismissed Duterte’s claims of political motivation as a familiar and convenient excuse to avoid scrutiny.
Assistant majority leader and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jay Khonghun also countered Duterte’s claims that the records under review were “fake”, noting that the documents came directly from the COA.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the Committee on Dangerous Drugs, clarified that the objective of the inquiry is not to declare guilt but to pursue accountability, the press release said.
1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez also questioned Duterte’s ongoing attempts to evade scrutiny, recalling how her office previously dismissed confidential funds inquiries during budget hearings as inappropriate. ||
