LEADERS of the House of Representatives’ “Young Guns” has criticized Vice President Sara Duterte for what they called a blatant attempt to avoid accountability by using her staff as a “buffer” to deflect scrutiny over her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.

“The Vice President must stop hiding behind her staff. They are not her bulletproof vest. Only she holds the answers to how these funds were spent, and it’s time for her to face Congress and take responsibility,” House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun accused Duterte of “throwing her staff under the bus” to protect herself from the mounting backlash.

“Her staff are not scapegoats for her to sacrifice whenever things get tough. If she truly believes in accountability, she must stop passing the burden to others and come clean to the Filipino people,” Khonghun said.

The two solons criticized Duterte for sending career officials to answer questions from members of the House Blue Ribbon Committee—officials who they argued lack direct involvement in the management of the funds in question.

“Linawin natin: hindi mga tauhan ni VP Sara ang gumawa ng desisyon. Siya ang may pananagutan. Sa pagpapadala ng ibang tao para sagutin ang mga tanong, hindi lang siya umiiwas sa responsibilidad—ipinapakita rin niya ang kakulangan niya bilang pinuno,” Ortega said.

The House Blue Ribbon Committee is investigating the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million by the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s leadership.

Of the six hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, Duterte has attended only the first, where she refused to take an oath, delivered a prepared statement criticizing the probe, and left without answering questions from lawmakers.

Key OVP officials close to Duterte—Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, Special Disbursement Officer Gina Acosta, and husband-and-wife Edward and Sunshine Charry Fajarda—have repeatedly ignored summonses, leading to contempt citations and arrest orders.

The probe took a dramatic turn when OVP Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez appeared at the sixth hearing under subpoena.

Her evasive responses led to her being cited for contempt and detained by the House for “undue interference in the proceedings.”

Khonghun blasted Duterte’s tactics, describing them as “a weak attempt to deflect responsibility.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas