ML Party-list Rep. Leila De Lima on Tuesday told the House Committee on Justice that Vice President Sara Duterte is the alleged “ultimate responsible officer” for the alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), and that the supposed amassing and conversion of these funds constitute impeachable offenses.
De Lima endorsed the third impeachment complaint accusing Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for allegedly amassing and converting at least ₱500 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, and ₱112.5 million in confidential funds allocated to DepEd for fiscal year 2023.
“The VP herself is the ultimate responsible officer or accountable officer of all these expenses or all these disbursements and spending of the confidential funds,” De Lima said in her manifestation as the committee determined the sufficiency in substance of the third complaint.
The former justice secretary and senator said the complaint clearly states that Duterte was the accountable officer for the subject funds and that no disbursement could occur without her approval. The complaint also alleged that Duterte directed the preparation, encashment and delivery of the funds.
De Lima cited audit findings and certifications attached to the complaint, arguing that the funds were not used for legitimate confidential or intelligence purposes.
She said that based on audit observation memoranda issued by the Commission on Audit (COA), the funds were not actually used for legitimate confidential and intelligence purposes but were “wrongly disbursed to the wrong persons and for the wrong purposes.”
She cited expenditures for “safe houses, sa tables and chairs, sa laptops,” calling them “a misuse of confidential funds alongside ‘yung pagtatakip rin.”
De Lima also alleged obstruction of oversight when documents were sought from state auditors.
“Remember when the committee then requested from COA any finding, any certification with respect to the spending of the OVP’s funds, pinigilan pa nga ito ng kanyang Chief of Staff na huwag gawin ng COA. This is a form of obstruction and that is under her instructions,” she said.
She emphasized that documents attached to the complaint bear the vice president’s approval.
“These were approved by the Vice President herself. May pirma siya sa certain documents as attached,” De Lima said.
“So I don’t see the validity of the argument na walang proof, na may kinalaman si VP sa paggastos na nang mali ng confidential funds ng Office of the Vice President,” she added.
De Lima maintained that if the allegations are hypothetically admitted as true, they amount to culpable violation of the Constitution, plunder and/or malversation, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.
