MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday issued an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against seven officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), as requested by the House of Representatives in connection with its investigation on the alleged misuse of public funds of the said office.
Covered by the ILBO are OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, assistant chief of staff and bids and awards committee chairperson Lemuel Ortonio, administrative and financial services director Rosalynne Sanchez, special disbursing officers Gina Acosta and Edward Fajarda, chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey and former Department of Education assistant secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda, who is now with the OVP.
In an ambush interview, DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said the ILBO “is not to restrict their travel but to keep tracks of their whereabouts.”
He said it will immediately be forwarded to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for implementation.
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, earlier requested the ILBO after the officials snubbed the panels’ invitations and subpoenas.
Chua said his panel has also received information that the said officials are planning to leave the country.
Earlier reports said at least one of the seven, Lopez, had left the country on an official trip.
The House inquiry was prompted by a privileged speech of Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano, who said Vice President Sara Duterte mismanaged funds in the OVP based on findings by the Commission on Audit (COA), which disallowed over PHP 73 million of the PHP 125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP in 2022.
The COA reported that this amount was spent in just 11 days, from December 21 to 31, 2022, averaging over PHP 11 million per day.
In its Notice of Disallowance, the COA ordered Duterte, along with Acosta and Villadelrey as “accountable officials,” to return the disallowed amount to the government. (PNA)