BiCOL Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Tuesday said signing disbursement documents for confidential funds is not a mere ministerial act and cannot be invoked as a defense in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte.
“People actually go to jail for basically just signing disbursement documents,” Ridon told the House Committee on Justice as it deliberated on the first ground of the third impeachment complaint against Duterte, which involves the alleged amassing and conversion of ₱500 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
“People are in the Sandiganbayan today because they had signed disbursement financial documents. So saying that it is ministerial is not an actual defense,” said Ridon, chair of the House Committee on Public Accounts and a member of the Justice panel.
Ridon said Commission on Audit (COA) findings, including Audit Observation Memoranda (AOMs) and Notices of Disallowance (NDs), form part of the evidentiary backbone of the impeachment complaint.
“The documents contained in AOMs and NDs are also the body of evidence that constitutes the basis for the proceedings that we have today,” he pointed out.
Ridon was responding to arguments raised by Quezon City Rep. Jesus “Bong” Suntay that signing disbursement documents was ministerial and that COA findings are appealable.
He stressed that impeachment proceedings are independent of COA’s administrative processes.
“Impeachment proceedings operate separately and independently of administrative proceedings of the Commission on Audit,” Ridon said.
“So the statement that AOMs and even NDs are essentially appealable cannot prevent impeachment proceedings to occur and proceed as it should,” he added.
Ridon also questioned the use of confidential funds for activities outside their legal scope, saying they were allegedly spent on team-building activities and other items that do not fall within the definition of proper confidential fund use.
On the reported rental of “safe houses,” Ridon cited congressional records showing about ₱16 million was spent, including roughly ₱500,000 over 11 days — equivalent to about ₱1.36 million per month.
“And the question therefore: saan po iyong mga safe houses na ito?” he asked.
“If we are talking about P1.3 million a month in rental of property, these safe houses should be in Forbes Park. These safe houses should be in Dasmariñas Village. These safe houses should be in the most expensive condominiums in Bonifacio Global City,” Ridon said.
“‘Pag wala ho ’yun doon mga kaibigan, parang hindi ho tama rin ’yung sinasabing paggamit ng confidential funds,” Ridon added.
