VICE President Sara Z. Duterte had “direct and overall supervision” over the use of P612.5 million in confidential funds now at the center of her impeachment trial, with her signatures and approvals appearing throughout the documentary trail, House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers said Friday.
“Mula sa request hanggang sa dulo na kung saan ay submission. In other words, meron siyang direct and overall supervision sa paggamit nitong pondong ito, and this is manifested by her signature in the documents that were presented before the impeachment court,” Barbers said at a press briefing.
Barbers was responding to a question on whether, after presenting its evidence under Article I, the House prosecution now considers Duterte principally responsible for what it has branded the alleged “confi scam.”
He said the evidence presented by prosecutors pointed to Duterte’s involvement in the alleged misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of the confidential funds.
“Lumalabas na ang nasa itaas ng lahat ng ito na nagkaroon ng maling paggamit, nagkaroon ng misappropriation at irregular liquidation ay may kinalaman ang ating Bise Presidente,” Barbers said.
“Dahil lahat po ng dokumento nagsasabi na meron siyang pirma, meron siyang approval dito,” he added.
The P612.5 million consists of P500 million in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million under the Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte concurrently headed.
House impeachment team spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said testimony from the prosecution’s hostile witnesses also pointed to instructions allegedly coming from Duterte.
“Klaro po ’yung naging testimonya ng mga hostile witnesses natin,” Alonto Adiong said.
“Ang rason kung bakit nagkakaproblema sa auditing process ng confidential funds ay dahil sa isang utos. At itong nag-utos, ang siyang head ng agency,” he said.
“Hindi naman po maaaring mag-utos ang isang empleyado sa kanyang boss. Klaro naman po ’yun. Ang utos ay nanggaling sa isang tao, Vice President Sara Duterte.”
Earlier in the press briefing, Barbers and Alonto Adiong presented a summary of the prosecution’s evidence under Article I, laying out what they described as a five-step flow of the confidential funds — request, cash-out, turnover, disbursement and liquidation.
The prosecution argued that the documentary trail and witness testimonies showed a recurring system in which cash withdrawn by special disbursing officers was turned over to security personnel, followed by questioned disbursements and liquidation documents.
Barbers said the prosecution’s allegations were not based solely on its interpretation of the evidence, pointing to Commission on Audit findings on documents submitted to account for the funds.
“Mahalaga kasi na maintindihan natin na ito ay hindi desisyon o ideya lamang ng prosecution,” Barbers said.
“Mismo ang ating COA, o Commission on Audit, na isang constitutional body, ang nagsabi na merong tanong tungkol doon sa kanilang mga dokumentong isinumite,” he added.
He said the COA findings supported the prosecution’s allegation of irregular liquidation of the confidential funds.
Asked what the public should take away from the Article I presentation, Barbers said government funds must be properly spent and accounted for even when they finance confidential operations.
“There was a clear non-compliance sa Joint Circular, kung kaya’t hindi nasagot ang mga malalaking tanong, bagkus ito’y nag-iwan pa ng mga mas malalaking tanong sa usapin ng paggamit ng confidential funds,” he said.
Duterte has denied the allegations against her. The Senate impeachment court will determine whether the prosecution has established the charges after considering the evidence of both sides.
metrosundaily
