House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V raised concerns about the Office of the Vice President’s handling of confidential funds, pointing to what he described as gaps in liquidation and fund management.
Ortega said the issue was not the OVP’s competence or skill. He said the office was capable in carrying out its work, but questioned the way money was released and provided under its confidential fund system.
The House leader said the OVP’s handling of confidential funds appeared to treat the money like “petty cash,” with what he described as its own type of liquidation and procedures for using the funds.
Ortega also questioned why an employee of Vice President Sara Duterte had to use personal money to cover a ₱150,000 amount that needed to be addressed through the office’s funds.
He said Duterte, as a leader, should be the first person to ask why Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio reached the point of advancing the amount from his own pocket.
The ₱150,000 advance involved Ortonio, who provided the money after former Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta sought assistance.
Ortega’s comments center on the procedures used in releasing, accounting for and utilizing the OVP’s confidential funds. He emphasized that the concern was not whether the office had the ability to perform its duties, but whether the funds were managed and released through the proper process.
The issue places attention on the OVP’s liquidation practices and the circumstances surrounding the personal advance made by Ortonio.
The statements were made in the context of questions about the OVP’s confidential fund management. Ortega specifically cited gaps in liquidation and fund management while questioning the practice of using an employee’s personal money for an office-related financial requirement.
He distinguished the office’s competence from concerns over how money was released and given to recipients.
