MANILA – A House of Representatives committee has asked for the issuance of an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
House committee on good government and public accountability, chaired by Manila’s Cong. Joel Chua, wrote Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for the issuance of ILBO after these officials snubbed hearings on the alleged misuse of OVP funds.
Among the subject of the ILBO request are OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff and bids and awards committee chair Lemuel Ortonio, administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, former Education Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda and her husband Edward Fajarda.
Chua said the testimonies of the OVP officials were crucial to the House inquiry and the issuance of an ILBO was urgent after reports that they were preparing to leave the country.
“Considering these developments, I earnestly request your office to issue a Lookout Bulletin Order against these personalities,” Chua said in his letter.
“This action is imperative to monitor their movements and prevent any potential attempt to flee the country, which could significantly hinder our investigation and broader efforts to uphold the integrity of public service,” he added.
An ILBO instructs immigration officers to verify whether there are arrest warrants pending against the subjects and to alert authorities if they attempt to leave the country.
The ongoing House hearing was based on a privilege speech by Manila’s Cong. Rolando Valeriano, who earlier called out Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio for alleged mismanagement of OVP funds, citing the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA).
A COA report said the OVP spent P125 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in 2022, or from Dec. 21 to Dec. 31.
According to acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP to the COA to justify its usage of the money, some P16 million in confidential funds were used to rent 34 safe houses during the said period, with one safe house costing nearly P91,000 daily.
COA later issued a notice of disallowance for P73 million out of the P125 million and directed Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey, to return the amount to the government.
The amount covered P10 million in rewards payment, P34.857 million for rewards in the form of “various goods,” another P24.93 million for rewards in the form of “medicines,” and P3.5 million for tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers with unclear confidential purposes./PN
