Plunder, malversation charges loom for Sara — Chua

Vice President Sara Duterte may face plunder and malversation charges over the misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds that were allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) between 2023 and 2024, a lawmaker said.

Public prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua made the assessment after consideration of the prevailing laws imposed on public officials when it came to the appropriate utilization of public funds.

Even with his foresight on a potential criminal case, the lawmaker would acknowledge that the determination when it came to the type of charges that could be issued to Duterte would rest on the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Well, first of all, since the amount involved is P612 million, it is too high for the threshold of plunder, so that’s one. Aside from, of course there is malversation, so forth and so on,” Chua said.

“But this is the most compelling that we see, plunder, because of the amount involved,” he added.

It is worth noting that the issue on the Vice President’s confidential fund use was among the Articles of Impeachment that were presented during Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial at the Senate.

The issue which fell under Article I, however, was among the three cases that the House Prosecution Panel decided to drop last Tuesday, 13 October.

Members of the prosecution, including Chua, have expressed that the withdrawal of the cases did not entail that the issue would be rested, noting that there may be external mechanisms that may get involved especially with the amount of public funds discussed.

The threshold that Chua was referring to when it came to plunder was P50-million. Republic Act No. 7080 characterizes the amount as ill-gotten wealth which alleges that it was amassed through a series of criminal acts, making it subject of a criminal case.

Chua would note that while there was “conviction” when it came to the impeachment, conviction through judiciary bodies was different given the penalties that each process imposes on a particular public official.

“It does not mean that when you get convicted through the impeachment that you will be imprisoned, because the penalty there is just the removal from office and perpetual disqualification from public office. Now, the criminal and civil aspects, that’s different,” he explained.

“What will happen now is, when she gets convicted, that means that she will be removed from her duties as the Vice President and her cases will continue,” he further pointed out.

Prosecution prepared to comply with Ombudsman

During a press conference on Friday, 16 October, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that they were in the process of collating and evaluating information regarding the confidential funds of the Vice President.

Remulla further stated that they would be communicating with House prosecutors to gather the evidence that they had for a possible suit against Duterte at the Sandiganbayan.

“Of course, our deadline at the Ombudsman is always yesterday. That’s why we always act with urgency. We just have to make sure that it will stand in court,” he answered when asked about a timeline on a possible criminal case against the Vice President.

In response to the call of the Ombudsman, Chua said that the panel was prepared to comply and willing to submit all of the evidence it had presented and gathered throughout the course of the impeachment proceedings.

He likewise recalled that during the 19th Congress, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which tackled the same issue, transmitted its committee reports to the Ombudsman. Chua was the chairperson of the panel.

Chua noted that such developments were proof that despite their team dropping their case on confidential funds and two other articles, the Vice President would still be subject to accountability mechanisms for her alleged unlawful acts.

“So once this impeachment concludes or because we dropped the other articles, it does not mean that the Vice President is exempted from accountability. This accountability will proceed in a different way, through criminal proceedings,” the lawmaker explained.

Aside from its case on confidential funds, the prosecution panel also dropped its cases on Duterte’s alleged grave threats towards high-ranking public officials and alleged bribery of officials under DepEd.

The trial is set to resume on 9 November where Duterte’s lawyers will begin their evidence of counter-evidence with respect to their client’s alleged unexplained wealth.