An Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has been issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano, quoted by GMA News, also said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla signed the ILBO which will immediately be forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration for implementation.
It was issued against Zuleika Lopez, lawyer Lemuel Ortonio, lawyer Rosalynne Sanchez, Gina Acosta, Julieta Villadelrey, Edward Fajarda, and Sunshine Fajarda.
Clavano said that the ILBO “is not a restriction to their travel or their right to travel but merely a monitoring mechanism by which we can see if they left or entered” the country.
Earlier, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability requested the ILBO.
The OVP confirmed that it approved all required travel documents for Lopez’s trip from November 4 to 16, amid the ILBO. “The OVP Chief of Staff’s travel was personal and unrelated to her employment with the OVP,” the OVP said.
“Speculations about the purpose of this travel are unfounded and unnecessary. We request to respect the privacy of the family during this difficult time,” it added.
Earlier, the OVP declined to attend the House panel hearing, describing it as “unnecessary and plagued with irregularities” and arguing that the subpoena was invalid.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, meanwhile said the chairperson of the House Blue Ribbon Committee on Wednesday disclosed that they are verifying information that it was Vice President Sara Duterte herself who signed the travel authority of Lopez that enabled her to go to the US on the eve of the hearing of the accountability and transparency panel.
Chua said that reliable sources provided him with the information and that the panel is in the process of verifying them.
He said that Lopez’s sudden departure seems to be an attempt to avoid testifying in the ongoing investigation into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds by the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s tenure as Education Secretary.
“It is unfortunate that there seems to be an effort to prevent OVP officials from appearing in our investigation. We are still finding out if it is true that VP Duterte himself signed the travel authority of his chief-of-staff to fly to the U.S. before our hearing,” Chua said.
The committee’s investigation centers on P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP and an additional P112.5 million allocated to the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure as Secretary.
Chua emphasized that Lopez’s absence, along with that of other key OVP officials, undermines the committee’s efforts to shed light on the alleged fund mismanagement.
He noted that the Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged a significant portion of these
confidential funds and even disallowed P73 million of the P125 million spent by the OVP in just 11 days during the last quarter of 2022. This finding, he stated, underscores the need for clarity and transparency from Duterte’s office.
“Apart from restraining his officials, the OVP even tried to convince the COA not to pass this document to us in the House of Representatives,” Chua said.
In a letter dated August 21, 2024, the OVP argued that the subpoena issued by the House Committee on Appropriations violated the separation of powers and could interfere with COA’s independent auditing process.
The letter urged COA to withhold audit documents concerning the OVP’s confidential fund usage, which has been flagged for questionable spending, including P73 million disallowed in a matter of days during late 2022.
He also pointed out that Duterte continues to avoid directly addressing the alleged misuse of these funds, even as her key officials are being prevented from attending the hearings.
The repeated absences of OVP officials, including Lopez, reflect a pattern of a lack of transparency and accountability, according to Chua.
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