MANILA: The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte will move into the audit phase this week as Commission on Audit (COA) witnesses present their findings on the PHP612.5 million worth of confidential funds received by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as secretary.
The prosecution will shift from tracing the movement of the funds to examining whether they were spent and liquidated in accordance with the rules, Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said in a news release Sunday.
“The next witnesses will come from the COA. They will explain how the confidential funds were audited and how the liquidation was reviewed. They will also discuss whether the supporting documents complied with the rules governing confidential and intelligence funds,” Acidre said.
Former COA state auditor Roderick Wamil and incumbent Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office Supervising Auditor Celine May Del Campo will testify first.
House of Representatives Legislative Information Resources Management Department Director Marivic Pareja is also expected to take the witness stand later in the week.
The upcoming testimonies follow the prosecution’s opening presentation on Article I last week, when it presented former Land Bank of the Philippines managers Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano.
Acidre said their testimonies established that the PHP612.5 million in confidential funds came from public money released by the National Treasury and was withdrawn entirely in cash through seven checks.
“Primarily, it was proven that the fund came from public funds. Secondly, it was proven to have been withdrawn in cold cash,” Acidre said.
Constantino testified that four Treasury checks worth PHP125 million each, totaling PHP500 million, were encashed for the OVP in December 2022 and in February, April and July 2023 by Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta, accompanied by Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio.
Camposano, meanwhile, testified that three Treasury checks worth PHP37.5 million each, totaling PHP112.5 million, were encashed for DepEd by Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda in February, April and July 2023, during Duterte’s tenure as DepEd secretary.
Acidre also noted that the testimonies drew attention to the unusual nature of the transactions during questioning by senator-judges last week.
Article I of the impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of misusing PHP612.5 million in confidential funds received by the OVP and the DepEd between 2022 and 2023.
Acidre said the prosecution will present evidence on how the confidential funds were accounted for after they were withdrawn from the bank.
The former COA auditors are also expected to discuss the Commission’s decision directing the return of PHP73.287 million in confidential funds released to the OVP in 2022.
It will be recalled that the 2024 inquiry by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability uncovered alleged irregularities in the liquidation of the confidential funds, including acknowledgment receipts bearing alleged fictitious names such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Milky Secuya” and “Kokoy Villamin.”
Based on Philippine Statistics Authority certifications and National Bureau of Investigation findings presented during the inquiry, many of the supposed recipients had no matching birth records, while several signatures on acknowledgment receipts were allegedly written by the same hand, among other questioned liquidation documents. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
