MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has denied obstructing the House good government panel's investigation into the Office of the Vice President's alleged misuse of confidential funds, saying her staff's repeated absence from the hearings was due to anniversary and year-end preparations. 

The vice president maintained that "there's no malice" in approving the travel orders for her staff that coincided with the congressional hearings, which she has again described as a political attack against her. 

Duterte made these statements at a press conference on Monday, November 11, hours after four senior OVP officials were cited in contempt and ordered arrested for repeatedly snubbing the House panel. 

The four who were cited in contempt were Lemeul Ortonio, Gina Acosta, Sunshine Fajarda and Edward Fajarda — OVP officials who have been repeatedly mentioned in past inquiries as being either privy to or involved in some part of the OVP's disbursement of confidential funds.

"[The lawmakers] are trying to destroy the dignity of the OVP... They're trying to destroy ordinary employees," Duterte said in mixed Filipino and English, once again tagging the House probe as "politically motivated." 

She explained her staff's absence through a series of scheduled activities: teams deployed to Panay and Negros Island for anniversary preparations, officials sent to Cebu for coordination work, and personnel in Caraga region preparing for potential December typhoons. Two other officials were assigned to Bukidnon for thanksgiving events, she added

"Even I won't be at the central office after November 16 because different activities at satellite offices are continuous," Duterte said, outlining events from November 15 to 29, including the OVP's 89th anniversary and its year-end celebration

What went before. Four OVP officials who previously refused to appear before the House committee showed up to its fifth inquiry on Monday. There, Kelvin Gerome Teñido, the OVP's budget office chief administrative officer, confirmed that the OVP used its confidential funds for matters not related to national security. 

Lawmakers also learned that OVP staff who were involved in budget, accounting and financial matters were kept in the dark about how the secret funds were spent. 

This adds to an earlier confirmation from former OVP Spokesperson Michael Poa, who said that it's only Duterte and the special disbursement officer, Edward Fajarda, who have direct knowledge of how the confidential funds are spent.

Duterte remains defiant about attending the House panel's investigation herself. She said she has not received an invitation but would only attend hearings if she wants to "pick a fight."

In the same press conference, Duterte also dismissed rumors of a "Save the Queen" operation that supposedly aimed to install her as president. She also accused House Speaker Martin Romualdez of using the probe to advance his presidential ambitions.

Accountability issues. House lawmakers have repeatedly urged Duterte to face their inquiry and directly answer their questions about her use of confidential funds instead of leaving it up to OVP officials to do so.

Duterte's refusal to take oath during the House good government panel's first hearing — the only one she has attended so far — had irked House members, who saw the act as an attempt to dodge accountability. 

The House panel is investigating the OVP's use of P500 million in confidential funds from late 2022 through the third quarter of 2023phfun, as well as P112.5 million in confidential funds during Duterte's concurrent tenure as Department of Education secretary. — with reports by Dominique Flores

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