LIVE: VP Sara Duterte attends House hearing on her use of public funds

MANILA, Philippines – The House good government committee — the lower chamber’s counterpart to the Senate blue ribbon committee — convenes on Wednesday, September 18, to discuss issues concerning the budget utilization of Vice President Duterte.

Here’s what has transpired so far:

• Duterte made a surprise appearance, after previously snubbing the House appropriations committee deliberations on her proposed 2025 budget.
• Duterte refused to take an oath to tell nothing but the truth, saying she is a resource person, not a witness.
• Former president and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to Duterte’s defense, saying jurisprudence dictates that a witness and a resource person are not the same, and that a witness, especially if the one accused, is afforded a higher level of protection.
• Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua said the hearing is conducted following an approved motion raised during the September 10 appropriations committee hearing to conduct a motu proprio probe into the failure of the Department of Education (DepEd) to deliver laptops to schools when Duterte was its secretary.
• Duterte denied any misuse of public funds: “If there are audit findings, we shall gladly respond to them before the Commission on Audit. If there are legitimate cases to be filed, we shall respond to them before the appropriate courts.”
• Duterte asserted that the hearing is a “well-funded political attack” to discredit her name, impeach her, and prevent her from running for president in 2028.

Led by its newly elected chairman Chua, the panel is deliberating the September 3 privilege speech of Manila 2nd District Representative Rolando Valeriano, which offered a scathing criticism of the Vice President.

“We don’t deserve a leader, especially one with presidential aspirations, who doesn’t want to disclose how she spent public funds,” said Valeriano, chairperson of the House committee on Metro Manila development.

Bookmark this page to watch Rappler’s livestream of the hearing at 10 am on Wednesday. – Rappler.com