Sara faces plunder raps

Vice President Sara Duterte is facing potential plunder charges due to her alleged failure to justify the P112.5 million in confidential funds from the Department of Education (DepEd), which was reportedly encashed during the first three quarters of 2023, her first full year in office.

Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. stated on Sunday that the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability may be forced to file a plunder case against Duterte if she does not account for the funds in the upcoming hearings.

“If the Vice President, as head of DepEd at the time, cannot provide a clear and adequate explanation of how this money was used, it is our duty to pursue the necessary legal measures, including the plunder case, to protect the interest of the public,” Gonzales said in Filipino.

Duterte has been at the center of the panel’s probe over allegations of fund misuse, particularly the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the DepEd, which she headed for nearly two years until she resigned on 19 July.

Both the OVP and DepEd obtained P150 million in secret funds in 2023 — Duterte’s first full year in office — despite the opposition arguing she had nothing to do with counter-surveillance for which the fund was intended. 

The latest committee hearing on 17 October revealed that the P112.5 million were withdrawn by one of Duterte’s close aides — DepEd Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda — through three separate checks as cash advances.

Each check was worth P37.5 million and encashed during the first three quarters of 2023, according to

DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla.

Sevilla told the panel that her role was limited to processing the disbursement of the fund as mandated by Joint Circular 2015-01 governing the release of confidential funds. 

She noted that the DepEd Finance Office had no role in overseeing how the funds were ultimately spent. Sevilla, however, assured that the encashment followed the required process for the disbursement of confidential funds.

Gonzales observed discrepancies in the documentation, noting that the funds were labeled as MOOE or Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses instead of confidential funds. 

The lawmaker argued that this mislabeling raises serious concerns about how the funds were categorized and whether they were used for their intended purposes. 

He also highlighted that this indicates a lack of transparency and raises concerns about the potential misuse of public funds allocated for sensitive programs.

Fajarda was not present at the hearing but has been subpoenaed to testify in the next inquiry.

The P112.5 million funds in question were part of the P150 million in secret expenditure that the DepEd requested to address crucial issues in the department such as abuse prevention in schools, anti-extremism efforts, and counter-insurgency.

According to Sevilla, it was the first time the DepEd had a confidential fund.

“If the utilization of P112.5 million remains unexplained, we may have no choice but to consider recommending the filing of a plunder case,” Gonzales warned, citing that the total amount in question significantly surpassed the plunder threshold of P50 million.

Under Philippine laws, only a government official who amass ill-gotten wealth of at least P50 million could be convicted of plunder.

Reclusion Perpetua to death shall be imposed on anyone found guilty of plunder.

Legal and constitutional experts have previously clarified that, unlike the President, the Vice President does not enjoy immunity from suit, leaving them open to criminal charges while in office.

Duterte attended the first hearing of the panel in September but asserted that she will no longer face the House probe, citing its ulterior motive. 

Earlier, Duterte accused the House leadership of plotting an impeachment against her and that the objective of the inquiry was solely to “discredit her head of the 2028 presidential polls, where she is perceived as the front-runner.

House leaders have repeatedly denied the allegation, deeming it a desperate attempt to divert attention from the mounting scandal leveled against her, including the alleged distribution of a cash envelope to DepEd executives. 

The panel is set to continue with the probe on Monday but was postponed due to severe tropical storm “Kristine.”