THE House prosecution panel on Thursday said testimony and documents in Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial all point to her as the one responsible for the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a spokesman for the prosecution panel, said the public should not be distracted by the number of witness that have surfaced for impeachment article on the confidential funds issue, including former special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio and former head of security Col. Raymund Lachica.
“Huwag natin gawing komplikado ang isang simpleng tanong, sino ang may kapangyarihan?” Alonto Adiong told a press conference. “Vice President Sara Duterte. Her request, her approval, her signatures, her certification, her direct supervision.”
The prosecution’s statement follows testimonies that senior OVP officials have either denied having personal knowledge of how the confidential funds were spent or pointed to Lachica, who was neither an OVP employee nor a bonded or accountable officer like Acosta.
Ortonio testified that only Duterte and Lachica knew how the OVP confidential funds were spent.
“You cannot claim authority when money is requested and then suddenly disappear from the story when accountability is demanded,” Alonto Adiong said.
He said the public should focus on the basic chain of action: who asked for the money, who approved it, who certified it and who supervised its use.
“The questions are basic. Sino ang humingi? Sino ang nag-approve? Sino ang nag-certify? Sino ang nag-supervise?” Alonto Adiong asked.
The administration lawmaker said leadership cannot be separated from responsibility because it is “not only about having authority.”
“Leadership also means accepting accountability,” he said. “Hindi pwedeng authority sa taas tapos accountability sa baba.”
The prosecution said the evidence presented so far includes Duterte’s signatures and certifications, testimony on the release of funds, and documents linking her to the request, approval and her direct supervision over the funds.
Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co said the accountability question has become clearer as the confidential fund issue unfolded.
“Klaro naman po na sa bawat yugto ng pag-uusap natin tungkol sa confidential and intelligence funds, bumabalik ang accountability kay VP Sara Duterte,” Co said.
She said the documentary trail has not allowed Duterte to disappear from the case, even while senior officials disclaim personal knowledge of actual confidential operations.
“Muli, nakita natin, siya po ang humingi ng pondo, siya po ang pumirma, siya po ang nag-aproba,” Co said. “Ang mga dokumento mismo ay nag-uugnay sa kanya sa certification at direct supervision,” she added.
Co continued: “At habang ang kanyang senior officials ay nagdi-disclaim ng personal knowledge tungkol sa actual confidential operations, hindi naman po nawawala si VP Sara sa documentary trail.”
The prosecution maintained that the next issue for the impeachment court is the amount of public money involved and the extent of alleged misuse.
“Nandoon na tayo sa point na na-establish na yung accountability based on the testimony of the witnesses and based on the documents we have presented to the court,” he said. “But the question now is how much money is involved? How much money has been misused?”
metrosundaily
