Vice Pres. Sara Duterte Attends House Hearing on OVP Confidential Funds
SARA DUTERTE – A staff member of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) fell ill during a House hearing on the confidential funds.
The investigation on the Confidential Funds use of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) in the House of Representatives is ongoing. Recently, Vice Pres. Duterte made a rare appearance at the inquiry.
Duterte appeared at the first hearing over her office’s budget use but skipped several inquiries afterwards. According to the Vice President, she was allegedly not asked during the hearing and she was just sitting there. Prior to it, the Vice President refused to take an oath.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte skipped the November 20 House hearing over her office’s budget use. Some officials of the Office of the Vice President appeared at the inquiry. At the end of the hearing, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief-of-staff of the OVP was cited for contempt for an alleged “interference”.
Lopez was detained at the House of Representatives. However, early Saturday, OVP chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez was rushed to the hospital after falling ill. Vice Pres. Duterte who stayed at the House during the lawyer’s detention accompanied her to the hospital.
The OVP Chief-of-Staff was brought to Veterans Medical Memorial Center and then she was transferred to St. Luke’s Medical Center. Under a Transfer Order, Lopez was brought back to the VMMC.
Recently, the House of Representatives conducted another hearing over the OVP Confidential Funds use. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte appeared at the hearing. Based on a report on GMA News, during the inquiry, a staff member of the OVP fell ill and had to be brought to the hospital.
The blood pressure level of OVP Special Disbursement Officer Gina Acosta shot up to 150/100. She was unconscious and she was checked by the House Medical director.
“Ms. Gina is currently unresponsive for now so House Medical Director Luis Bautista declared it an emergency,” said lawyer Leandro Resurreccion IV.
Based on the report, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s staff member was brought to the VMMC. There are still no updates with regards to Ms. Gina Acosta.
Not only the spending of the CIFs of the Office of the Vice President is being questioned. There are also questions about the Confidential Funds use of DepEd during Duterte’s term. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that First Lady Liza Marcos is allegedly the one behind the cash-filled envelopes given some officials in the educational field.