The Office of the Vice President (OVP) said it has yet to receive an official copy of the Commission on Audit (COA) decision cited during a recent House committee hearing, and thus declined to issue any comment on the matter.
In a statement, the OVP said it could not respond to questions on the COA findings because the report presented during the House Committee on Justice hearing on 14 April, has not been formally transmitted to the office.
“The Office of the Vice President has not received a copy of the Commission on Audit decision presented at the House Committee on Justice hearing. We cannot comment at this time,” it said.
The COA report covers audit observations on the OVP’s confidential funds for 2022, including questioned disbursements flagged for lack of supporting documentation.
Auditors earlier issued a Notice of Disallowance against Vice President Sara Duterte, mandating the return of P375 million in confidential funds that were issued in 2023.
It cited improper disbursement of funding, discrepancies and lack of proper supporting documents.
“Based on the results of our evaluation, with due consideration to subsequent information given under oath during hearings of the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability of the House of Representatives, the amount of P375,000,000.00 is hereby disallowed in audit,” the COA order stated.
Duterte, however, argued last Thursday that her right to due process was “violated” after the Commission on Audit denied her petition to review a notice of disallowance involving confidential funds used by her office.
But COA affirmed its earlier ruling, stating that “[T]he petitioner’s right to due process was not violated when the amount of P3.5 million was disallowed in audit despite not previously raised in the AOMs (audit observation memorandum).”