Sara controlled intel funds, OVP exec reveals

From request to utilization, Vice President Sara Duterte and key OVP officials oversaw the contentious P500 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of the Office of the Vice President.

This was confirmed by Duterte’s subordinates who were summoned by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability after they had repeatedly defied its summons to its probe into alleged irregularities in the use of the OVP’s CIF.

The inquiry on Monday revealed that neither the OVP’s finance officer, chief accountant, nor budget officers had personal knowledge of or direct involvement in overseeing the secret funds.

The funds were disbursed in four installments of P125 million each beginning the fourth quarter of 2022 and continuing through the first three quarters of 2023.

The OVP’s Administrative and Financial Services Director, Rosalynne Sanchez, denied any knowledge of or control over the use of the confidential funds, saying that this was restricted to Special Disbursement Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, who was under Duterte’s chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez.

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

“So in the end, only the SDO, the chief of staff, and the Vice President herself had any knowledge or oversight over 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 for the office, confirmed that the OVP had asked the Department of Budget and Management for a fund augmentation, including to its CIF, which did not go through his rigorous review.

The request, which was submitted to the DBM on 20 August 2022, was supposed to undergo Teñido’s perusal, particularly 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 was already approved by the head of agency,” he said, referring to Duterte.

Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin, however, did not buy Teñido’s explanation, saying that it was a failure on his part 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 the DBM because it was deemed approved,” the Iloilo lawmaker said.

Internal oversight

Teñido also confirmed the OVP utilized the confidential funds for items not related to national security threats, for which the funds were intended. These included socioeconomic program deliveries, expected outcomes, the safe implementation of OVP initiatives, confidence building and success indicators.

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

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

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

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