Sara Duterte cites impeachment, refuses to answer queries on confi funds

Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday refused to answer questions about her office’s use of P625 million allocation for confidential funds, saying this is a subject of the pending impeachment case against her and will compromise national security.

Duterte made the position when she was asked about whether her office appealed the Notice of Disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit regarding the confidential funds. 

“This [confidential fund] is a subject of an impeachment proceedings. I cannot discuss defense and strategy because the prosecutors will come from the House of Representatives,” the Vice President said.

The Supreme Court decided last July 25 that the Articles of Impeachment leveled against the Vice President is unconstitutional and imposed seven new rules on the House of Representatives in filing an impeachment case.

The seven new rules did not exist when the House impeached the Vice President last February 5.

Since then, the Senate, under then Senate President Francis Escudero, archived the impeachment complaint filed against the Vice President.

The House, however, has since asked the Supreme Court to reverse its July 25 decision by saying that the lower chamber should be allowed to perform its exclusive duty to prosecute an impeachable official, and the Senate's to try the case.

As to the recipients of the confidential funds, the Vice President said she cannot disclose it due to national security concerns.

“I cannot discuss how intelligence operations are done without compromising national security,” she added.

The Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President include:

• conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker and Leyte Rep. Romualdez;
• malversation of P612.5 Million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• bribery and corruption in the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure by handing out cash to former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Procurement Head), Bids and Awards Committee Member Resty Osias, DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan and Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda;
• unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth where her wealth increased by four times from 2007 from 2017;
• involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder efforts, which include: boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself "designated survivor," leading rallies calling for Marcos' resignation, obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas, threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez, among others; and
• the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land.

—AOL, GMA Integrated News