THE House prosecution team on Friday maintained that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, as head of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), bears ultimate responsibility for the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds released to the two agencies, saying accountability cannot stop with the special disbursing officers (SDOs) who handled the cash.
The alleged misuse involves P500 million in confidential funds released to the OVP from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 and P112.5 million released to the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary in the first three quarters of 2023.
The funds were withdrawn by former SDOs Gina Acosta of OVP and Edward Fajarda of DepEd, whose liability has become a key issue in Duterte’s impeachment trial.
House prosecution spokesperson and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co said the position is consistent with the doctrine of command responsibility, which recognizes the accountability of superior officials for the acts of their subordinates.
“‘Pag may pagkakamali ho anuman sa isang document, ‘yung isang inferior government official, meron pa ring responsibility ang supervisor, ang superior officer,” Co said during an online press briefing.
“Hindi natin pwedeng masabi that the buck stops at just the special disbursing officer. Meron at meron pong responsibility ‘yung higher commanding officer,” she added.
Co made the remarks when asked about Palace Press Officer Claire Castro’s comments criticizing suggestions during the impeachment trial that only the SDOs should be held liable for the questioned confidential funds.
Lawyer Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr., legal spokesperson and counsel for the House panel of prosecutors, said the prosecution’s position is fully supported by the testimony of Commission on Audit (COA) State Auditor Roderick Wamil before the Senate impeachment court.
“His position is, liability’s not on the special disbursement officer alone. In fact, higher responsibility and accountability is placed on the head of agency,” Tolosa said, referring to Wamil’s testimony.
Tolosa said that in his testimony, Wamil cited Section 102 of the Government Auditing Code, which provides that the head of the agency is “directly and primarily responsible for all funds and properties” pertaining to the office.
He said Wamil likewise pointed to Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which requires the head of the agency to directly supervise the use of confidential funds and ensure strict compliance with liquidation procedures.
“Nakalagay din ho dyan, meron din siyang responsibility to directly supervise the use of confidential funds,” Tolosa said.
He also noted that liquidation reports and certifications presented before the impeachment court bear Duterte’s signature.
“At makikita din natin dun sa mga napakadaming certifications and different liquidation reports, documents na pinirmahan ng Bise Presidente, nakalagay doon she is accountable for the use of those confidential funds,” he said.
Tolosa stressed that he was merely reiterating Wamil’s testimony before the impeachment court.
“These are not my words. These are the words of COA State Auditor Roderick Wamil,” he said.
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