House inquiry bares lack of OVP fund guardrails

From the request stage to the utilization of funds, Vice President Sara Duterte and her key officials had sole authority over the contentious P500 million in confidential and intelligence funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

This was confirmed by Duterte’s subordinates on Monday, who were summoned by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability after repeatedly defying its summons to face a probe into alleged irregularities in the use of the OVP's secret funds.

The investigation revealed that neither the OVP’s finance officer, budget officials, nor chief accountant had personal knowledge or direct involvement in overseeing the secret funds, which were disbursed in four installments of P125 million each, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022 and continuing through the first three quarters of 2023.

OVP’s Administrative and Financial Services Director Rosalynne Sanchez denied having any knowledge or control over the use of confidential funds, stating that oversight was restricted to Special Disbursement Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, who reports to Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, Duterte’s Chief of Staff.

“When it comes to the confidential fund, your honor, it should be the special disbursing officer,” Sanchez explained, noting that Acosta reports to Lopez, who, in turn, reports directly to Duterte.

“So in the end, only the SDO, the chief of staff, and the Vice President herself have any knowledge or oversight of these funds, correct?” Deputy Speaker David Suarez asked.

“That is correct, Your Honor,” Sanchez responded.

OVP Budget Office Chief Administrative Officer Kelvin Gerome Teñido, who was part of the team that crafted the 2023 budget proposal, also confirmed that the OVP requested the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for a fund augmentation, including its confidential funds, which did not undergo his rigorous review.

The request, submitted to the DBM on 20 August, 2022, was supposed to undergo Teñido’s perusal, particularly regarding the request for secret funds.

Teñido told the panel that after he obtained the request plan, it was immediately submitted to the DBM.

“We merely relied on how the physical and financial plan was drafted and approved… The plan is already approved by the head of agency,” he said referring to Duterte.

Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin, however, did not accept Teñido’s explanation, criticizing it as a failure to perform his basic duties.

“With position and responsibility comes accountability. So I cannot accept the reason that you only accepted it and then passed it on to DBM because it was deemed approved," the Iloilo lawmaker lamented.

Teñido also confirmed that the OVP utilized the confidential funds for specific items not related to national security threats, for which the funds were intended.

This included socio-economic program delivery, expected outcomes, safe implementation of OVP initiatives, confidence building, and success indicators.

With standard financial officers excluded from the process, lawmakers are questioning how such a substantial sum—P500 million disbursed over four quarters—could be managed with minimal internal oversight.

Both Acosta and Lopez previously served under Duterte during her tenure as Davao City mayor, where similarly large confidential funds were allocated annually to her office.

Their prior roles in Davao City’s administration, now mirrored in the OVP, have raised further questions among lawmakers about the continuity in Duterte’s use of confidential funds.

Records indicate that Davao City’s confidential funds grew steadily, from P144 million in 2016 to P460 million annually between 2019 and 2022.