Duterte won’t forgive clerk for stealing P2.3-million

There is no plan to forgive, Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said of his jailed secretary who stands accused of stealing from him P2.3-million.

Speaking with local reporters, Duterte said he valued the services rendered to him by his long-time secretary, 40-year old Hezelene S. Osiones, "but the amount is significant."

Duterte corrected earlier reports that the P2.3-million was only for his charity fund to help cancer patients. He said most of the money were intended to pay lawyers handling the election protest filed against his daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Elements of the San Pedro police station arrested Osiones, at Jollibee store in Dipolog City on May 26 where she supposedly tried to hide after taking the P2.3-million cash from Duterte's vault in the office.

She was charged with qualified theft after Prosecutor Shahruddin Roberto Sencio Jr. found probable cause to hold her for court trial based on the affidavit executed by the vice mayor. No bail was recommended for the respondent's temporary liberty. It was learned that Osiones was among Duterte's trusted employees at the City Hall for the past nine years.

In March and May, this year, Duterte reportedly handed to his executive assistant, Christopher Go, P500,000 and P1,500,000 to pay for attorney's fees and other legal expenses in relation to the election protest filed and various cases filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan.

On March 11, Duterte also handed to Go P31,932 for cancer patients. Due to other administrative works, Go turned over the money worth P2,031,932 to Osiones for safekeeping.

Last May 25, Duterte instructed Go to get P500,000 from the vault inside his office and send it to Manila-based lawyers as payment for their legal services.

But when Go opened the vault, he found out that the money was missing. Witnesses testified that Osiones did not report for work on that day. (report from Mindanao Insider Daily)