Palace presses Sara to explain P73-M confidential fund disallowance
SINGAPORE — Malacañang on Friday challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to explain the Commission on Audit’s (COA) final disallowance of P73.287 million in confidential fund expenditures by the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the ruling raised serious questions about how the funds were spent and accounted for.
“Kung nakita po ng COA na kailangan niyang ibalik ang pondo na ito, ibig sabihin lamang, lumalabas na hindi tama ang pag-liquidate at maaaring lumabas na nagamit sa iba ang pondo, at iyan ang dapat na ipaliwanag ng Bise Presidente,” Castro said.
COA affirmed with finality its disallowance of P73.287 million from the P125 million in confidential funds released to the OVP in December 2022.
The expenditures were incurred over 11 days, from 21 to 31 December 2022.
State auditors found that the OVP failed to comply with requirements governing the use and liquidation of confidential funds under Joint Circular No. 2015-01.
The audit findings also identified P3.5 million charged to confidential funds for tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers without sufficient documentation establishing their use in confidential operations.
COA rejected arguments raised in the motion for reconsideration, including claims of due process violations and challenges to the audit findings.
Castro also criticized Duterte's camp for what she described as repeated claims of ignorance concerning the questioned transactions.
“Hindi sa pamamagitan ng again gamitin ko iyong sinabi ng spokesperson [of Duterte], huwag sa pamamagitan na maging magtanga-tangahan o plain ignorance – iyan na rin po ang napansin ng prosecution, laging nagpapahiwatig na walang alam ang Bise Presidente sa mga isyung katulad nito na kung ikaw ay nagnanais na maging pangulo ay hindi puwede sa mga isyung ito na wala palaging alam,” she said.
The Palace maintained that Duterte should directly address the findings rather than dismiss questions about the handling of confidential funds.
The disallowance concerns the validity and documentation of government expenditures and does not, by itself, establish criminal liability or prove that the funds were diverted for personal use.