OVP

STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING INQUIRY OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOOD GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

The Office of the Vice President maintains that the ongoing legislative inquiry by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is unnecessary because it does not satisfy the requirement enshrined in the Constitution regarding inquiries in aid of legislation.

While the OVP recognizes the power of the Lower House to conduct such an inquiry “in aid of legislation,” the ongoing congressional probe, which stemmed from Privilege Speech No. 379 of the Hon. Rolando Valeriano last September 3, 2024, is not in aid of legislation.

P.S. No. 379 as well as the motu proprio inquiry based on the manifestation of Hon. Gerville Luistro both lacks clear legislative objectives or contemplated legislation that is expected as an outcome of the deliberations.

The ongoing House inquiry against the OVP cannot ensure that discussions would be germane to the subject matter right from the time of its referral and commencement of the deliberations.

With due respect to the honorable members of the Committee, the OVP believes that in accordance with jurisprudence, the invited resource persons are under no compulsion to attend. Be that as it may, OVP officials and personnel have submitted before the Committee their replies to the invitation.

In fact, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte herself attended the inquiry conducted by the panel on September 18 following an invitation sent by the House panel, which was received by the OVP on September 13.

Last September 20, several officials and personnel received another invitation for the September 25 hearing, addressed solely to VP Duterte. The Vice President responded to this letter invitation in a letter dated September 23, stating the reasons why the OVP will not be attending.

On October 9, invited OVP officials and personnel responded with a written reply before the Committee following a ‘Show Cause Order’ issued on October 7.

On October 15, the OVP received another invitation from the House panel. In response, the OVP officials and personnel sent a Position Paper on October 17, 2024.

The OVP is cautious about discussing matters that are already pending before the Supreme Court House panel, as the agency may violate the rule on sub judice, which restricts comments and disclosures pertaining to judicial proceedings.

If the House panel chaired by the Hon. Joel Chua continues to conduct its own inquiry of issues already pending before the Court, this will only create the possibility of conflict between the findings of a legislative committee and the judgment of a judicial tribunal.

Such conflicts may unnecessarily create a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court, which will only prejudice the stability of the nation’s democratic systems and the broader interests of the public we serve.

Also, the OVP just like other government offices, is regularly audited by the Commission on Audit and the allegations that Cong. Valeriano stated in his privilege speech could easily be verified through reports by the country’s state auditors.

The data being sought by Cong. Valeriano’s in his privilege speech has already been provided during the budget deliberations in the Committee on Appropriations, and that further information needed may be verified through the COA, thus, it becomes completely unnecessary for the House panel to conduct a legislative inquiry into the budget utilization and accomplishment of the OVP.

For the same reasons, the congressional inquiry into these matters under audit may also unnecessarily influence the proceedings before the Commission on Audit or create conflict between the lawmakers and the state auditors since COA is an INDEPENDENT CONSTITUTIONAL BODY vested with the primary jurisdiction over the matter, thus, on these premises alone, the inquiry should discontinue.