MANILA: Vice President Sara Duterte should return to the authorities the US$1,221,934 (P73.28 million) in confidential funds her office spent in 2022, after the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the spending and held her liable to repay it, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V said on Thursday (April 16).
Doing so would allow Duterte to “demonstrate accountability expected of a public servant,” as she faces corruption allegations in impeachment proceedings that threaten her presidential ambitions.
“If VP Sara truly wants to show her accountability as a public servant, it would be better for her to simply return the funds that COA has ordered to be refunded,” Ortega said in a statement in Filipino.
“She must be held responsible for the people’s money entrusted to her and acknowledge where she felt short in the process,” he added.
Duterte was issued a notice of disallowance for P73.28 million in secret fund spending in 2022, which COA flagged as questionable due to a lack of supporting evidence.
A notice of disallowance is issued by the state auditor when it flags a government transaction as “illegal, irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable,” according to the commission’s charter.
The notice, which COA affirmed in an April 10 decision, covers confidential expenses incurred by the Office of the Vice President from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022, specifically P69.78 million for “rewards” and P3.5 million for tables, chairs, desktop computers, and printers.
“This isn’t loose change,” Ortega said. “It’s a huge amount, and with how difficult life is today, the public expects that every centavo of government funds is properly accounted for.”
At an impeachment hearing on Tuesday, Gloria Camora, head of the COA section in charge of auditing confidential and intelligence funds, replied in the affirmative when asked by Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno whether the notice of disallowance would require the flagged amount to be returned to the government.
According to Camora, the liable officials named in the COA notice are the vice president, OVP chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey, and former OVP security chief Raymund Dante Lachica.
The fund disallowed by COA forms part of the P125 million in confidential funds released to the OVP in 2022, which the state auditor flagged as spent in 11 days. Its rapid release has fueled corruption allegations and has triggered impeachment efforts against Duterte.
During the Tuesday hearing, self-confessed former “bagman” Ramil Madriaga testified that he “disposed” of the funds in just a day, delivering bags of cash containing P30 to P35 million each to three locations in Laguna and Quezon City. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
