As the Senate impeachment court prepares to scrutinize how more than P600 million in confidential funds were spent, a former law school dean on Saturday dismissed as a “lame excuse” Senator-Judge Alan Peter Cayetano’s defense of the controversial transactions, arguing that secrecy cannot be invoked to shield public officials from constitutional accountability.

Speaking in a television interview, former FEU Institute of Law dean Mel Sta. Maria rejected Cayetano’s assertion that the unusual cash withdrawals from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education could be explained by the fact that Vice President Sara Duterte had been granted confidential funds not typically allocated to previous vice presidents or education secretaries.

“Grasping at straws. It’s a lame excuse. We should not confuse confidentiality with accountability. Accountability is primordial. Confidentiality is merely a methodology,” Sta. Maria said.

The controversy traces its roots to 2023, when lawmakers questioned the OVP’s use of P125 million in confidential funds within 11 days of receiving the allocation.

Congressional inquiries later expanded to include P112.5 million in confidential funds granted to DepEd while Duterte served as education secretary, drawing scrutiny to liquidation documents and acknowledgment receipts submitted to justify expenditures.

Duterte has denied wrongdoing and maintained that confidential funds under both the OVP and DepEd were used in accordance with government rules. But Sta. Maria said confidentiality cannot become a blanket defense against accountability.