Duterte-Carpio spokesperson: No CIF used for AFP youth programs

Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio’s legal spokesperson Michael T. Poa confirmed that no confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) from the Department of Education (DepEd) were given to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for youth activities, despite AFP certifications attached to the VP’s liquidation reports. “Yes, I confirm that… As to confidential funds,” Mr. Poa, who was DepEd chief of staff under Ms. Duterte, told the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday, testifying as a hostile witness on article I of impeachment alleging Ms. Duterte’s misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the DepEd. Two witnesses from the AFP on Tuesday said they were not aware of the Vice-President’s use of their certifications for the OVP’s liquidation report of the confidential funds submitted to the Commission on Audit. House private prosecutor Benjamin S. Tolosa, Jr. pressed Mr. Poa on the use of the AFP certifications as attached documents to the VP’s liquidation reports. “The reason why you used these YLS (Youth Leadership Summit) certifications, in your words, it was on the premise that whatever activity conducted by the military on the ground was targeted because of information received by DepEd due to those rewards given out on the premise,” Mr. Tolosa said, which the witness affirmed. Mr. Tolosa quoted several testimonies made by Mr. Poa during a hearing at the House on Ms. Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds, specifically on the DepEd’s confidential expenditures amounting to P112.5 million. Mr. Poa also affirmed the prosecution’s summary of his “theory” on the DepEd’s usage of the AFP certifications, saying that the agency was “probably’”able to give the Philippine Army information on where to conduct the YLS activities. However, upon questioning by Mr. Tolosa, the witness said he had no personal knowledge of whether the information did help the AFP. The trial will resume on Monday, Sept. 7, for the continuation of the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on the same article of impeachment. Marizza B. Grande of the Philippine Statistics Authority will take the witness stand. Impeachment court presiding officer Senator Francis Joseph G. Escudero has also approved the proposed changes in trial schedules for October to give way for the budget hearings. From Oct. 1 to 2, Oct. 5 to 9, and Oct. 12 to 15, the trial will be held from 10 a.m. to early evening. There will be no trial dates from Oct. 16 until Nov. 8 and will resume on Nov. 9 and Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol told a news briefing that the senator-judges aim to finish the trial by December. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel