MANILA, Philippines — A Commission on Audit (COA) auditor told the Senate impeachment court Tuesday that government auditing rules create a presumption that Vice President Sara Duterte used confidential funds for personal benefit after the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) failed to submit documents supporting the liquidation of millions of pesos in such funds.
Former COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office auditor Roderick Wamil cited Paragraph 8.3 of Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which states that an accountable officer’s failure to liquidate public or confidential funds under the officer’s custody constitutes prima facie evidence that the funds were used for the officer’s personal benefit.
Wamil, now an audit team leader in Pasay City, also rejected the defense’s argument that the OVP did not have to comply with liquidation requirements because the confidential funds came from the Office of the President (OP).
Prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan asked Wamil whether Duterte, who served as vice president and concurrent education secretary in 2023, qualified as the accountable officer for the confidential funds of both the OVP and DepEd.
“Based on the joint circular, yes,” Wamil said.
He explained that the joint circular holds an agency head responsible for overseeing the use of confidential funds, ensuring compliance with liquidation and reporting requirements, and attesting to certifications that the funds were spent only on authorized confidential activities.
“What Paragraph 8.3 means is that there was a presumption that the funds were used for the personal use and benefit of the accountable officer,” Wamil said.
DepEd funds questioned
Wamil testified that DepEd failed to submit supporting documents for P112.5 million in confidential funds released during the first three quarters of 2023.
The amount consisted of three quarterly allocations of P37.5 million each reflected in DepEd’s physical and financial plan, which Duterte signed.
The plan listed counterinsurgency programs, abuse prevention and control in schools, anti-illegal activities operations, and anti-extremism or antiterrorism initiatives as the intended uses of the funds.
However, Wamil said DepEd did not submit documents showing that the reported expenditures actually occurred. The agency also failed to identify the specific confidential activities connected to the disbursements, he said.
“Since their specific confidential activities were not enumerated, their physical target did not match the specific confidential activities that they would use their confidential funds for,” Wamil testified.
OVP expenses flagged
Wamil also detailed deficiencies in the OVP’s liquidation of confidential funds.
He said the OVP’s first-quarter 2023 accomplishment report included P42 million for medical and food assistance without documentary support.
The report also listed another P10 million for incentives or travel-related expenses supposedly connected to confidential operations, but the OVP submitted no receipts or other supporting documents, Wamil said.
He said both expenses fell outside the exclusive list of allowable confidential expenditures under Item 4.8 of Joint Circular No. 2015-01.
“These do not fall among those enumerated under Item 4.8 of the 2015 Joint Circular. Thus, the same should not be charged against the confidential fund of the agency,” he said.
The auditor also said the OVP failed to submit documents showing that intelligence-gathering or surveillance activities linked to reward payments had resulted in successful operations.
Wamil reiterated his earlier testimony that COA found no documentary evidence supporting OVP confidential fund expenditures during the first and second quarters of 2023 and no proof of successful intelligence operations linked to payments to informants.
‘Scam’ remark stricken
During the hearing, Kapunan argued that the COA findings went beyond establishing prima facie evidence of personal use.
“Your Honor… this is a scam,” she said.
Defense counsel and spokesperson Michael Poa objected and asked the court to strike the remark from the record.
Presiding officer Francis Escudero sustained the objection and ordered the statement removed from the official transcript.
Poa later described Kapunan’s statement as a “mischaracterization” and said Escudero correctly ruled that it was improper.
Meeting over audit findings
Wamil also testified about a September 2023 meeting with OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, then DepEd chief of staff Poa, former COA Assistant Commissioner Nilda Plaras and state auditor Gloria Camora.
According to Wamil, Lopez and Poa asked COA to issue an audit query instead of an Audit Observation Memorandum if the OVP’s and DepEd’s liquidation documents proved insufficient. Such a step would have allowed the agencies to supplement their submissions before COA issued a formal audit finding, he said.
Poa confirmed attending the meeting but said he could not recall asking COA to issue an audit query. He said he was merely a bystander because the discussion primarily involved the OVP and focused on clarifying the joint circular.
Poa also said he believed COA initiated the meeting, although he was still verifying that recollection.
No exemption for transferred funds
During redirect examination, Kapunan challenged the defense argument that Duterte could not be held accountable because the confidential funds had been transferred from the OP.
Kapunan asked Wamil whether the source of the funds changed the obligations imposed under Joint Circular No. 2015-01 on the official who received and administered them.
“It did not,” Wamil replied.
He said an agency head becomes responsible for ensuring that confidential funds are used only for authorized activities and that liquidation, documentation and reporting requirements are followed once the agency receives the funds.
Wamil said the joint circular does not exempt an agency head from accountability because the funds originated from another government office.
The prosecution said the testimony supports its position that accountability attaches to the official who receives and administers confidential funds regardless of their source.
Wamil is the prosecution’s third witness for Article I of the impeachment case, which accuses Duterte of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds while heading the OVP and DepEd.
Earlier hearings examined COA findings questioning P375 million in OVP confidential fund expenditures in 2023 and another P73 million in 2022 over unsupported disbursements, expenses outside allowable purposes and other documentary deficiencies.
The Senate impeachment court is set to resume hearings on Article I on Wednesday.
