š· Atty. Emily Rose Torrentira | ABS-CBN NEWS
Lawmakers kicked out the head of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) legal team out of a House hearing for refusing to oath on Monday, November 11, since she was not an official resource person formally invited to the congressional probe.
During the hearing, OVP’s Legal Affairs Division head Atty. Emily Rose Torrentira refused to raise her right hand alongside other OVP officials despite being asked to do so.
āI am not refusing to take my oath. I was trying to explain that I am not an invited resource person. I was only asked to explain why there was no receipt for the subpoenas,ā Torrentira told lawmakers when asked why she refused to raise her right hand.
Members of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability then questioned why Torrentira was at the hearing if was not formally invited.
Quezon Second District Rep. Jay-jay Suarez said lawmakers donāt know her identity or the circumstances of her being at the meeting. Hence, he said the committee could not acknowledge Torrentiraās presence due to the uncertain circumstances surrounding her attendance.
“She was not invited, she did not take her oath, and there was no communication to us as to her attendance. For all we know, she could be someone posing as someone else,” Suarez said.
“The committee cannot proceed based on mere representation,” Suarez added.
Abang Lingkod party-list Representative Stephen Paduano moved to have Torrentira excused from the hearing, a motion that the panel members unanimously approved.
4 OVP execs cited in contempt
Meanwhile, four officials from the OVP have been held in contempt for repeatedly failing to appear before a House panel investigating the budget use of the OVP and the Department of Education during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure.
The officials cited in contempt are Lemeul Ortonio, Gina Acosta, Sunshine Fajarda, and Eduard Fajarda. The contempt order against the four officials also includes a detention order at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.
Suarez moved to cite the officials in contempt during Monday’s hearing after the Committee Secretariat reported that the four had ignored the panel’s invitations three times and the subpoena ad testificandum five times.
Lawmakers likewise questioned the repeated absences of several OVP officials, suggesting that there may be “malicious intent” behind their excuses for avoiding congressional investigations.
“This (timeframe) is beyond what the committee would normally allow,” Suarez said.
Immigration authorities have issued an immigration lookout bulletin order for these individuals due to their refusal to attend a legislative inquiry. The four were among seven OVP officials who previously submitted a position paper stating their intention to decline participation in the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s ongoing investigation into the agency’s budget utilization.
Meanwhile, the House panel reissued another subpoena ad testificandum to OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez for humanitarian reasons, as she is currently in the United States caring for an aunt who is in critical condition. Lopez notified the committee of her situation through a letter. (TCSP)
