A HOUSE prosecutor on Saturday pushed back against what he described as a defense effort to shift blame for the alleged misuse of confidential funds to lower-ranking officials, saying Vice President Sara Duterte cannot pass responsibility to her subordinates.
Speaking at the Saturday News Forum, Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro) said attempts to pin liability on Special Disbursing Officers (SDOs) and other staff ignore a basic rule in government: the head of the agency is ultimately responsible for how public funds are used.
“Hindi ho natin puwedeng sabihin na yung Special Disbursement Officer lang yung pwede hong itali dito po sa maling paggamit ng confidential funds. Hindi ho natin puwedeng sabihin na yung accountant lang yung puwede ho natin itali sa disbursement of confidential funds,” Ridon said.
Ridon said the prosecution has seen signs that the defense may be trying to “throw under the bus” rank-and-file employees of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), particularly those tasked to handle confidential funds.
“Huwag ho tayong magbolahan dito na pwede ikulong lang, pwedeng ilaglag lang yung ordinaryong kawani nang hindi po pinapanagot, yung pinakatuktok yun hong hepe ng particular na opisina ng OVP,” he said.
He stressed that even if SDOs physically handle the money, they cannot release funds on their own.
“Kailangan po ng pirma ng head of agency. Walang lalabas na pera, walang tseke na mai-issue pag wala hong pirma ng head of agency,” Ridon said, adding that authority to release funds also means responsibility for how those funds are spent.
Ridon also pointed to earlier testimony showing that the Vice President had direct control over the release of confidential funds.
“Ang sabi ho ng mga taong ito, the final green light to disburse the confidential funds was made by the VP herself,” he said.
The confidential funds under scrutiny total P612.5 million, consisting of P500 million 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.
“Walang kaukulang dokumento para patunayan kung bakit naglabas ng ganitong kalaking pera,” Ridon said, referring to the audit findings.
Ridon said these findings support the argument that the Vice President had full control over how confidential funds were used in her offices.
“So ibig sabihin, malinaw ho yung absolute control, absolute authority ng Pangalawang Pangulo not just on the disbursement of confidential funds but absolute authority over the office itself,” he said.
He added that it would be unfair and unrealistic to hold only lower-level personnel responsible.
“Ito po ay mga ordinaryong kawani ng OVP. I do not think, ladies and gentlemen, these particular personalities can in fact be able to dispense, disburse confidential funds without the final authority from the VP,” Ridon said.
The prosecution said it will continue to present evidence in the Senate impeachment trial to show how confidential funds were used and who should be held accountable.
“Dito na magkakaalaman kung may pananagutan o wala,” Ridon said.
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