Image: Vice President Sara Duterte refuses to take an oath at a congressional budget hearing

Description: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte (seated, far right) was the lone resource person not to take an oath to tell the truth during the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearing convened on September 18, 2024. She argued to the committee that only witnesses and not resource persons are required to take an oath. The hearing, based on the privilege speech given by Rep. Rolando Valeriano on September 3, was to discuss the budget utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Also included in the picture (from left) are: Xylene Mae L. Del Campo of the Commission on Audit (CoA), Atty. Gloria A. Camora of CoA, Atty. Erwin E. Lapitan of CoA, Zarah Jane M. Fegalan of CoA, Fahad Bin Abdulmalik Tomawis of CoA, Marvin Joshua Palitic of CoA, and Undersecretary Rolando U. Toledo of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Below is the caption provided for the House of Representatives' Facebook post where the photo was included: "The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chaired by Rep. Joel Chua convened today for the initial deliberation and preliminary determination of the speech delivered by City of Manila 2nd district Representative Rolando Valeriano in plenary on 03 September 2024. Rep. Valeriano delivered a speech asserting Congress’ power of the purse and blasting Vice President Sara Duterte for her refusal to answer questions about the budget spendings of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) during the Committee on Appropriations budget deliberation held 27 August 2024. In his opening remarks during the hearing, Rep. Chua underscored that the power of the purse and the role of Congress does not end with the passage of the national budget. He said Congress needs to safeguard the budget to ensure proper utilization and allocation. Present in the hearing were Vice President Sara Duterte and officials from the Commission on Audit (COA) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM)."
Title: Vice President Sara Duterte refuses to take an oath at a congressional budget hearing
Credit: Facebook post of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (https://www.facebook.com/HouseofRepsPH/posts/pfbid0NUYuAczRfXY8Wjw82VRjm9REH6nRNqaWyWWsDfnU4nZqNTCagGoVr4MQFgmPmP9vl)
Author: House Press and Public Affairs Bureau, House of Representatives of the Philippines
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No