Davao accountant: COA never flagged Inday's salary

A Davao City accountant told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday that the Commission on Audit (COA) had issued no disallowance or suspension over the P64,194.72 in salary differentials paid to Vice President Sara Duterte in 2023 for adjustments covering her previous years as city mayor.

During the re-direct examination, Davao City Accountant Vingelin Bajan attributed discrepancies between the city's annual compensation records and Duterte's Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Form 2316 to deductions for absences, leave without pay and other adjustments.

"The particulars is salary differentials for the year 2020 and 2021 po," Bajan testified, explaining that it was a back pay resulting from adjustments under the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, not additional compensation for services rendered while she was vice president.

"Parang the totality ng isang empleyado kung wala kang absent, wala kang leave without pay and other deductions po," she explained.

The BIR Form 2316, meanwhile, reflected the compensation after deductions were applied. She confirmed that the original supporting documents had already been submitted to COA.

Asked whether COA had issued any audit observation memorandum, notice of suspension or notice of disallowance over the salary differentials, Bajan said the audit agency had issued none.

The prosecution earlier raised questions about the 2023 payment after Bureau of Internal Revenue official Anne Lorraine Garcia-Marquez testified that Duterte's income tax return included a Form 2316 identifying the Davao City government as her employer.

The document reflected P82,327.45 in gross compensation income for 2023, a figure separate from the P64,194.72 salary differential cited by the defense.