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Inday to fight P73-M CoA disallowance before SC

Lisa Marie Apacible · Oct 9, 2026, 12:56 AM

DEFIANT in the rain Protesters gather outside the Senate along JW Diokno Boulevard in Pasay City on 8 October 2026, calling on the Senate impeachment court to convict the Vice President. — PHOTOGRAPH by Toto Lozano for DAILY TRIBUNE

The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte will challenge before the Supreme Court (SC) the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) decision affirming its disallowance of P73.287 million of the P125 million in confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in December 2022.

Lawyer Michael Poa said they will file a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court after the CoA denied their motion for reconsideration.

“When we filed our motion for reconsideration, we were hoping for the best but expecting the worst,” Poa told reporters in a press briefing. “We anticipated this might be the resolution of the CoA Commission Proper, and we’ve been ready for that.”

Poa said Rule 65 provides a remedy for questioning the acts of a tribunal, board, or officer exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions when there is no appeal or other adequate remedy under the ordinary course of law.

The OVP had earlier said it anticipated the CoA might sustain the disallowance and it was prepared to respond through the appropriate legal and institutional channels. However, it said it had yet to receive a copy of the 5 October resolution.

The P125 million in confidential funds was released to the OVP in December 2022 by the Office of the President shortly after Duterte took her seat as vice president. The CoA’s notice of disallowance covered P73.287 million of the confidential fund that was spent in just 11 days, from 21 to 31 December 2022.