House adopts panel report urging plunder, other raps vs. Sara Duterte

The House of Representatives has adopted the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability's recommendation to file charges against Vice President Sara Duterte for the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education for 2022-2023.

The recommendations—contained in the committee report presented by the committee chairperson Manila Representative Joel Chua during the plenary—are for technical malversation, perjury, bribery, and plunder charges to be filed against Duterte.

“This is the only and first vice president to request excessive amount of confidential funds, in comparison with the past vice president,” Chua said.

“In the draft committee report, the following matters were exhaustively deliberated upon: Number one, obstruction of inquiry. Number two, misuse of confidential funds. Number 3, interference and bribery. And number 4, systemic flaws in the Joint Circular 2015-01,” he added.

The committee also recommended the filing of criminal, civil, and administrative charges of technical malversation, falsification, use of falsified documents, perjury, bribery, corruption of public officers, plunder, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution against other officials.

The committee noted the absence of officials invited to the House hearings, as well as the refusal to answer questions of those who attended.

“It stemmed from the refusal to answer key questions officials from OVP and DepEd which claimed no knowledge of the actual usage of the confidential funds. Secondly, the unjustifiable attendance. Vice President Sara skipped multiple hearings, labeling them as political theater and issued travel orders to invited officials as excuse for their in attendance to the committee's hearing,” Chua said.

The committee report also mentioned questionable documents submitted by the OVP and the DepEd.

“The submission of spurious and questionable acknowledgement receipts were established. Dubious or fabricated with fictitious repeated names, similar handwriting, and predated and antedated acknowledgement receipt. We received a certification from the PSA claiming that no such name exists, the name that were mentioned in their acknowledgement receipt,” Chua said.

The recommendations were based on the committee’s investigation into the alleged misuse of P500 million confidential funds for the OVP and P112.5 million confidential funds for the DepEd for 2022-2023, when Duterte headed the education department.

The recommendation comes on the day that the Senate convened as an impeachment court to try Duterte for the same alleged misuse of confidential funds, among other articles of impeachment. 

Duterte has denied the allegations of the misuse of funds. — BM, GMA Integrated News