Sara told: Justify OVP, DepEd expenses or face graft raps

Vice President Sara Duterte could face graft charges if she remained defiant in not explaining to Congress her expenses, including the P73.2 million disallowed by the Commission on Audit (CoA), a House leader said Tuesday.

The P73.2 million in disallowed expenses were part of the P125 million confidential fund that the Office of the Vice President spent in 11 days in December 2022.

“More than just allegations of mismanagement, she may be held liable for graft, for possible violation of the anti-graft laws, if she cannot adequately explain and justify the adverse findings, and if the CoA does not accept her explanations and justifications,” House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said.

Dalipe added, "This raises serious questions about the propriety of how these funds were used. The fact that P73 million was flagged means that the public deserves answers. If the Vice President's office cannot explain or rectify these discrepancies, this could lead to more than just administrative penalties. It could point to criminal liability for graft."

Aside from the alleged misuse of confidential funds, Duterte also left the Department of Education (DepEd), which she headed for nearly two years until her resignation on 19 June, with a whopping P12.3 billion in disallowances, suspensions, and charges that remained unsettled by year-end of 2023.

CoA ascribed the irregularities to DepEd's non-compliance with existing laws, rules, and regulations.

The state auditing body has yet to conclude its report with regard to issuance of the notices of disallowance, but Dalipe suggested that the report be submitted to Congress and the Ombudsman immediately so that they could take appropriate action.

Realignment of funds

Meanwhile, Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co, chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, announced that he would recommend that the funds requested by Duterte for her office's social services be transferred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the DepEd due to her "poor track record" in handling public resources.

The projected realignment of funds follows Duterte's accusation against Co and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who allegedly "controlled" the 2023 budget of the DepEd when she was its chief.

Duterte claimed that several House members wanted to get a portion of the DepEd’s P5-billion budget for classroom construction in 2023, which she thumbed down.

However, when the General Appropriations Act was signed, the allocation had been boosted to P15 billion.

Duterte claimed that Romualdez and Co "meddling" with the DepEd budget was one of the reasons why she resigned from her post.

“That P10 billion is not controlled by the Department of Education. It is controlled by Cong. Zaldy Co. and Cong. Martin Romualdez,” Duterte asserted.

Co, however, retorted that Duterte is only "diverting" the issue from her need to justify how she spent both funds of OVP and DepEd.

"Waldas at lakwatsa ang lumalabas… nangurakot. Diversionary tactic, nililihis kasi ayaw niyang magpaliwanag," Co during the OVP budget hearing.

“Tinalo pa ang Napoles fund na 60 days ginastos ang pera,” added Co, referring to pork barrel mastermind Janet Lim Napoles who allegedly received billions of kickbacks from ghost projects of lawmakers.

Moreover, Co strongly criticized Duterte for having been the very first VP in the history of the Philippines to have more than 400 bodyguards not to mention her own Vice Presidential Security Group.

Co lamented that such massive of security for a one person is a total "waste of funds."