OVP mum on Sara's whereabouts ahead of Senate impeachment deliberations

As the Senate prepares to deliberate on how to proceed with Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment complaint following the Supreme Court ruling declaring the Articles of Impeachment unconstitutional, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has yet to provide information of her whereabouts.

Duterte's office, however, maintains that the Vice President is doing her job despite not being seen recently in public.

“She may not be here physically, hindi lang natin nakikita, pero yung trabaho na kailangan for the office is still being done,” said OVP spokesperson Atty. Ruth B. Castelo on Wednesday.

(She may not be here physically, we just don’t see her, but the work required by the office is still being done.)

Castelo also stressed that Duterte continues to issue instructions directly, even remotely. 

“Even if she's not here, she's still running the office. Kasi may tech naman kami. The instructions come from the VP herself,” Castelo explained.

Ghost?

The OVP, meanwhile, also underscored that Duterte remains involved even in day-to-day tasks.

“Lahat ng ginagawa ng OVP, or even the public release, the press releases that we make, even the ones in social media, chinecheck po muna ni Vice President yun kung tama ba or accurate ba yung mga figures na binigay nyo,” Castelo said. 

(Everything the OVP does—including public releases, the press statements we make, even those on social media—the Vice President checks them first to see if the figures given are correct or accurate.) 

“So that's how the Vice President is involved, like I said, she may not be here physically, hindi lang natin nakikita pero 'yung trabaho na kailangan niya nun for the office is still being done. Ano lang, minsan virtual, minsan ghost,” she added. 

(That’s how involved the Vice President is. Like I said, she may not be here physically—we just don’t see her—but the work required of her for the office is still being done. Sometimes it’s her directly, sometimes virtual, sometimes like a ghost.)

Working harder

Asked about decline in performance ratings in recent surveys, the OVP said Duterte is working hard "to do better."

“We of course respect the survey regardless of the source. Okay lang po sa atin yan. Ang findings, if totoo man, we have resolved to do better. The VP herself resolved to work even harder,” said Castelo.

(We respect the survey regardless of its source. That’s okay with us. If the findings are true, we’ve resolved to do better. The VP herself is determined to work even harder.)

“Impeachment or no, the OVP will work the same or even harder to fulfill the mandate. Tuloy lang. Kung anong trabaho, yun lang ang focus kasi,” added Castelo.

(Whether there is impeachment or not, the OVP will work the same or even harder to fulfill the mandate. We just keep doing the work, that's the focus.)

Palace has no info

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said Wednesday that the administration had no information as to the whereabouts of the Vice President.

In a press conference in New Delhi, Castro said her last authorized travel was her trip to the Netherlands and South Korea. 

“Sa ngayon ay wala po tayong impormasyon. Tinawagan po natin ang Office of the Executive Secretary… sa ating pagkakaalam at sa ibinigay, ang pinaka huling travel authority na naibigay sa kanya ay simula July 5 hanggang July 28 kung saan po siya nag-travel papuntang The Netherlands at South Korea,” Castro said. 

She said there was information that Duterte was going to Kuwait; however, there is no travel authority yet for this supposed trip. 

“Meron po tayo na balitaan at ito'y naitanong sa atin na meron daw na balak ang Bise Presidente na pumunta sa Kuwait ng August 8 pero as we speak wala pa pong naihahain na request for travel authority ang Bise Presidente sa sinasabing pagba-byahe,” Castro said. –VAL, GMA Integrated News