Lawmaker Urges VP Sara Duterte to Attend Budget Inquiry After Quad Committee Hearing
SARA DUTERTE – A lawmaker has called on the vice president to attend a House inquiry into her office’s use of funds after she appeared at a separate investigation into her father’s war on drugs. Duterte surprised many by attending the House quad committee hearing, which also included her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro expressed frustration that Duterte had not attended previous hearings of the Good Governance Committee, which was investigating the budgets of both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd). Luistro pointed out that if Duterte could stay late to support her father, she should also attend as a resource speaker for the committee on Good Governance.
Former senator Leila de Lima, a critic of the drug war, supported the call for Duterte to face the inquiry, stressing that everyone should respond to questions from a co-equal branch of government.
Duterte had been invited to a hearing scheduled for November 20 by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which would focus on her office’s confidential expenses. However, she attended only the first session and skipped the others, claiming the investigation was politically motivated. Duterte denied any misuse of public funds, although several congressmen disagreed.
Earlier this week, the House committee cited four individuals linked to the Vice President’s office for contempt after they failed to attend the budget inquiry.
In response to the investigation, Duterte said as per ABS-CBN News that she no longer expected fairness from the House and accused them of political persecution. She criticized the committee for changing rules to suit their agenda and expressed concern, not for herself, but for the ordinary employees in her office, who she said were being harassed and affected by the political pressures.