THE Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte to return ₱73.28 million of the ₱125 million in confidential funds that her office spent in just 11 days in December 2022 on items deemed disallowed under government regulations.
The COA’s Notice of Disallowance, dated Aug. 8, 2024, surfaced during a House Committee on Appropriations hearing as lawmakers deliberated on the proposed ₱2.037 billion budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025.
The disallowed expenditures, amounting to nearly two-thirds of the total confidential funds, included payments for rewards in the form of goods rather than cash, and the procurement of tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers — expenses that appeared inconsistent with the intended use of confidential funds.
Tensions rose during the hearing as Vice President Duterte repeatedly refused to answer lawmakers’ questions about the rapid expenditure of the confidential funds.
Her consistent response to the questions was, “I will forego the opportunity to defend the OVP 2025 budget proposal in question and answer, and I will leave it to the House to decide on the proposal.”
Appropriations panel vice chair Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, who presided over the hearing, emphasized that the interpellation is a critical component of legislative oversight.
“Madam Vice President, we have 17 members listed for interpellation. And as you know, you’ve been here many times for our budget briefing, that this is an important part of the budget briefing,” Quimbo said.
“The GAA, the General Appropriations Act, is arguably the most important piece of legislation of the year,” she stressed.
Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro questioned the prudence of spending ₱125 million in just 11 days, especially given the OVP’s generally low utilization rate for other budget allocations.
“Nakita naman natin doon sa presentation. So ang utilization ay napakababa. Pero siyempre comment ko lang, mas mabilis siya sa confidential funds, 100% in 11 days,” Castro pointed out, pressing Duterte for an explanation of the disallowed purchases.
At one point, Duterte deflected by questioning the relevance of discussing previous budgets, particularly the 2022 budget that included the confidential funds.
“Nasaan ang topic natin dito, at ang pina-submit ninyo sa amin is the budget proposal of 2025, where in the budget proposal of 2025 is the item confidential funds?” Duterte asked, questioning the validity of the inquiries.
Quimbo countered, insisting that Castro’s questions were valid, especially given the ongoing concerns about how the confidential funds were used.
“The Hon. France Castro has already provided a sufficient explanation as to why she asked the question, so please proceed with your answer,” Quimbo said.
Castro highlighted that ₱40 million of the confidential funds had been allocated for medical and food aid, questioning how such a large amount could have been spent so quickly.
“So ang ibig sabihin ito, Madam Chair, konting math, pumapatak na ₱3.64 million kada araw ang gastos para sa food and medical aid. So hindi natin maintindihan paano ito ginastos in 11 days,” Castro said.
Duterte’s continued evasion led Castro to compare the Vice President’s tactics to that of a squid releasing ink to avoid capture.
“Sorry for the pusit, na kapag nasusukol na ang pusit ay nag-aano ng maitim na tinta,” Castro said. “So ayaw natin ng ganun, Madam Chair, kasi ‘yung atin namang pinag-uusapan dito ay budget. So ‘wag naman mag-ugaling pusit ang Office of the Vice President.”
Castro also stressed that the COA’s Notice of Disallowance made the spending of the funds illegal. “If disallowed, ilegal ang paggamit nito,” she said.
COA Assistant Commissioner Alexander Juliano explained that a Notice of Disallowance signifies that an expenditure is deemed improper by the COA.
“Ang Notice of Disallowance po ang ibig sabihin, hindi pwede ang expenditure kasi it’s either irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable,” Juliano said
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