Sara Duterte’s defense: No rule bars confidential funds from being spent in 11 days

MANILA, Philippines – The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte argued during an impeachment trial that there is no specific rule barring the use of confidential funds within an 11-day period. During the 12th day of the trial, the defense cross-examined a Commission on Audit (COA) official regarding COA’s Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which governs the auditing of confidential and intelligence funds. Defense spokesperson and counsel Michael Poa asked the COA official if there was a provision in the circular that prohibits the use of confidential funds within a certain number of days. "Is there a provision that bars the use of funds in 11 days?" Poa asked. The COA official confirmed, "None, that’s why we did not include the 11-day disbursement in our findings." Duterte is facing impeachment proceedings over the alleged misuse of confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd). For 2022 and 2023, Duterte’s OVP received a total of P500 million in confidential funds, while DepEd received P112 million for 2023. In 2024, P73 million out of the OVP’s P125 million confidential funds were disallowed or flagged by COA due to "non-submission of documents evidencing the success of information gathering/and or surveillance." Additionally, P3.5 million worth of furniture and computers were flagged for not "specifying that they were intended for confidential operations." The defense maintained that COA’s disallowances and audit observations were preliminary and not conclusive. "I have always maintained my position that there is no misuse. There is no misappropriation. No money went to or was diverted to the Vice President, but we will not be able to prove all of that. They will not be able to prove all that with just one co-witness. So, I’m sure we will tackle more things," Poa explained. The defense also highlighted the Office of the President’s approval of Duterte’s confidential funds and the inclusion of the OVP and DepEd’s 2023 confidential funds in the national budget. Meanwhile, the prosecution had alluded to the questioned fund usage as a "scam," a remark that was later ordered stricken from the court’s records. Source: Rappler Philippines