House leaders on Tuesday said Vice President Sara Duterte’s affidavit is insufficient to address allegations of misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) between late 2022 and 2023.
House Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District) and Assistant Majority Leader Amparo Maria “Pammy” Zamora (Taguig City, 2nd District) urged the Vice President to appear in person at the ongoing hearings to provide clarity and transparency.
“Well, ang sabi niya magsa-submit na lang daw po siya ng sworn statement o affidavit, pero kami po ay hopeful na makarating siya dahil tingin namin ‘yung sworn affidavit is not enough,” Chua said during a press conference.
“So paano po namin maitatanong sa kanya ‘yung mga… marami po kasing katanungan nung mga kasama po natin sa komite na gusto rin po namin malinawan,” he added.
Zamora acknowledged that while the committee accepts affidavits, they cannot replace the value of live testimony.
“In fact, tinatanggap talaga ng committee, Cong. Joel, ‘yung sworn affidavit. In fact, maganda ‘yun,” Zamora said. “However, if she could come here last week, she should be able to go here tomorrow (Wednesday).”
Zamora pointed out that Vice President Duterte attended a different hearing last week to accompany her father, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who testified under oath before the House Quad Comm that is investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings linked to his administration’s war on drugs.
“Nagpunta siya, nagulat ako nung dumating ang VP. Sabi ko, ‘Oh, I think she is in the wrong hearing,’ and then it turns out she was there para bantayan ‘yung kanyang father kasi nga daw hindi sumusunod sa mga kasama. That was very kind of her,” Zamora said.
Zamora expressed hope that the Vice President would attend the scheduled Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Wednesday to address lawmakers’ questions directly.
“Even though she said na hindi siya darating, we hope she’ll arrive tomorrow so that she can answer pertinent questions,” Zamora said.
She emphasized that failing to attend the hearing would be a missed opportunity for Duterte to clarify the issues surrounding the confidential funds.
“Kasi if she doesn’t arrive and kahit may sworn affidavit siya, she loses her chance na mas mabigyang linaw ‘yung mga issue na ito. Kung kaya naman niyang ipagtanggol ang sarili niya, she should come,” Zamora said.