Sara Duterte may be accountable for DepEd confi fund 'misuse' — COA witness

Vice President and former Education Secretary Sara Duterte may be considered an accountable officer in connection with the Department of Education's (DepEd) alleged misuse of confidential funds, a Commission on Audit (COA) witness told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday.

Lawyer Roderick Wamil, a former state auditor with the COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO), testified that he issued an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) covering DepEd's use of confidential funds for the periods February 20 to March 30, 2023, and April 20 to June 29, 2023.

In the AOM, Wamil identified alleged irregularities in DepEd's use of confidential funds, saying these stemmed from the agency's non-compliance with Joint Circular (JC) No. 2015-01, which prescribes the guidelines for the use, liquidation, and reporting of confidential funds.

"Based on the JC, yes," Wamil replied when asked whether Duterte may be considered an accountable officer in relation to DepEd's non-compliance with the joint circular.

"Because under the JC, the head of the agency is responsible for overseeing the agency-wide use of confidential funds and ensuring compliance with the requirements of the joint circular," Wamil said.

"The Vice President, in her capacity as Vice President and DepEd secretary, also attested to the certification of accountable officers that the funds were used for confidential expenses," he added.

Wamil is a prosecution witness for Article I of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of committing impeachable offenses through the alleged systematic misappropriation and irregular liquidation of P500 million in confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to DepEd during her tenure as Education secretary.

According to Wamil, one of DepEd's alleged violations was its failure to submit supporting documents covering the liquidation of P112.5 million in confidential funds in 2023, which he said violated Section 4.8 of the joint circular.

He also cited Section 8.3 of the circular, which states that the "failure of the accountable officer to liquidate any public funds for which he is accountable, upon demand by any duly authorized officer, shall be prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or property to personal use and benefit."

"Nagkaroon ng presumption na ginamit yung funds for the personal use and benefit of the accountable officer," Wamil said.

(There arose a presumption that the confidential funds were used for the personal use and benefit of the accountable officer.)

DepEd meeting

Wamil also recalled meeting with several former DepEd officials, including former DepEd spokesperson and now defense counsel Michael Poa.

Also present at the meeting were OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez and COA lawyer Nilda Plaras.

"They asked about the liquidation process for confidential funds and the supporting documents required for liquidation," Wamil said, adding that the DepEd officials asked whether the COA could issue an audit query instead of an AOM after the liquidation had been submitted.

The COA-ICFAO declined the request, Wamil said, explaining that issuing audit queries is not part of the office's mandate under Joint Circular No. 2015-01.

'Scam'

During direct examination, private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan sought to translate the COA's finding that the irregularities constituted prima facie evidence of misuse into simpler, more familiar terms.

"Ang tawag dito, hindi prima facie. Kung ako ang tatanungin, scam ito," Kapunan said.

(This is not merely prima facie evidence. If you ask me, this is a scam.)

Poa immediately asked the Senate impeachment court to strike Kapunan's remark from the record. The presiding officer, senator-judge Francis "Chiz" Escudero sustained the objection.

Speaking to reporters during a break in the proceedings, Kapunan stood by her characterization.

"Kapag paulit-ulit 'yan at hindi mo ginamit ang pera na sinabi mong gagamitin, ang tawag doon scam. Pero ang ini-scam hindi nanay, hindi tayo, ang ini-scam ay taumbayan. Ang worth ng scam na 'yan ay P612 million," she said.

(If you repeatedly fail to use the money for its intended purpose, that's called a scam. But the ones being scammed are not our mothers or us—they are the Filipino people. The value of that scam is P612 million.)

"Kaya maski tinanggal sa record, gusto ko lang sabihin kasi para maintindihan natin. Kapag in-scam kayo, 'di ba masakit ang loob n'yo?" she added.

(That's why even if it was stricken from the record, I still wanted to say it so people would understand. If you were scammed, wouldn't you feel aggrieved?) — MCG, GMA News