Possible Sara impeachment

Vice President Sara Duterte’s “misuse” of her contentious P125-million confidential fund in 2022, of which over P73 million has been disallowed by the Commission on Audit (CoA), is enough ground to impeach her, a House leader said Friday.

The CoA has ordered the OVP to return P73.287 million of the P125-million secret fund it spent in a mere 11 days since it was disallowed.

Based on the CoA’s notice of disallowance, the OVP spent P69.8 million on reward payments, of which P10 million was in the form of cash, P34.857 million on various goods, and P24.93 million on medicines.

The remaining P3.5 million was used to pay for chairs, desktop computers, and printers, with the OVP failing to specify that the funds were intended for confidential operations or activities.

The CoA flagged the spending due to the absence of “documents evidencing the success of information gathering and/or surveillance activities” to support the expenditure.

“It’s becoming apparent that Duterte was banking on the supposed veil of secrecy around confidential funds to hide her unlawful use of the people’s money,” House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro noted.

“This is a clear betrayal of public trust,” she said, adding that confidential funds should be scrapped as they are prone to corruption.

CoA Assistant Commissioner Alexander Juliano told lawmakers during the hearing on the OVP budget last Tuesday that a notice of disallowance is issued when the expenditure is either “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable.”

Refused to answer

Members of the House Committee on Appropriations took turns questioning Duterte on how she utilized the secret fund, which she persistently refused to answer, which led to a heated exchange.

She maintained that the issue of confidential funds had nothing to do with the proposed OVP 2025 budget, and she no longer requested for such funds.

“Her stonewalling on legitimate questions from members of the House regarding her use of public funds showed an utter disrespect for the basic principles of checks-and-balances, transparency, and accountability of public officials entrusted with the people’s money, all of which are enshrined in the Constitution that she swore to uphold,” Castro pointed out.

OVP spokesperson Michael Poa said they are set to file an appeal on the notice of disallowance, which he pointed out is “not yet considered final.”

“We are now preparing to appeal the so-called disallowance. It only shows that the OVP is cooperating with the ongoing audit,” he said in an interview on Thursday.

Duterte liable

Castro, however, contended that Duterte must be held liable for her supposed wrongdoings.

“Her misuse of confidential funds is an impeachable offense,” she said.

Castro added, “With the embezzlement of confidential funds, at a time when funds for public services are scarce, and with the refusal to explain this to the people, impeachment is clearly grounded.”

Rumors of Duterte’s possible impeachment first circulated in mid-2023 at the height of the “irregular” transfer of the subject P125-million secret fund.

The P125 million was part of the P221.42 million contingent fund of the Office of the President that was transferred to Duterte’s office as a confidential fund in 2022, which opposition lawmakers had then said was unconstitutional since there was no line item for it in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.