THREE more witnesses will be presented this week by the House prosecution team at the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The three witnesses will be grilled about the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.
The Senate impeachment court has subpoenaed former Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta and former Department of Education (DepEd) SDO Edward Fajarda to testify from Aug. 17 to 19.
Acosta and Fajarda have yet to take the witness stand since the questioning of state auditor Xylene Del Campo of Commission on Audit’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-Icfao) lasted two days.
Also summoned to testify was House of Representatives Legislative Information Resources Management Department Director Marivic Pareja.
Acosta, Fajarda and Pareja are witnesses for the prosecution for Article 1, which accuses the vice president of committing impeachable offenses due to systematic misappropriation and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the OVP and P112.5 million released to the DepEd when she was the education secretary.
During the House inquiry, Acosta testified that she turned over OVP confidential funds to then-OVP security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica after encashing them, following Duterte's instruction.
Fajarda similarly testified that he turned over DepEd confidential funds to then-DepEd security officer Col. Dennis Nolasco after encashment, also on Duterte's instruction.
The two SDOs also testified that they did not personally distribute the confidential funds, pointing to the security officers as handling the disbursement.
Two former LandBank department managers earlier testified that Acosta and Fajarda encashed a total of P612.5 million in confidential funds for the OVP and DepEd.
Former COA-Icfao state auditor Roderick Wamil identified Acosta and Fajarda as the SDOs responsible for liquidating the confidential funds.
Wamil said the liquidation reports and disbursement vouchers for both the OVP and DepEd had Duterte's approval as head of the agency.
He cited audit findings that included unsupported reward payments, expenditures not authorized under Joint Circular 2015-01, and the absence of documentary proof showing the success of confidential or intelligence operations.
Budget deliberations
On Sunday, House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that despite her impeachment trial, the House of Representatives will continue to treat Duterte’s office with courtesy and respect during deliberations on its proposed 2027 budget.
In a radio interview, Adiong, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the House had allowed the OVP’s 2026 budget to reach the plenary even though Duterte did not attend the deliberations.
“The mere fact that we allowed her budget to be deliberated on the floor, even without her presence, is a manifestation of that courtesy that we have extended to her office,” he told DZBB.
“Respect is there, but it does not also mean that she should be immune from questions; that we disallow or we preclude members of the Appropriations Committee from asking questions about certain matters pertaining to her budget,” Adiong said.
Government agencies seeking public funds are expected to appear before Congress and answer questions about their proposed programs and projects, he said.
“If the budget is what the agency is asking for, you should appear. Because the members of the House of Representatives, they represent the people all over the country,” he said.
“If we don't ask about that budget, that is also dereliction of our duty because we are being paid by taxpayers' money to precisely ask these agencies where and how they implement these programs and projects that we approved," Adiong added.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) proposed a budget of P785.204 million for the OVP under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The Marcos administration has submitted a P7.2-trillion spending plan to Congress.
Here is how the DBM broke down the OVP’s proposed budget: Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), P561,651,000; Personnel Services, P220,232,000; and Capital Outlays, P3,321,000.
The OVP’s allocation is scheduled for review on Sept. 2.
Adiong said the House still expects Duterte to attend the budget deliberations.
The DBM transmitted the proposed P7.2 trillion National Expenditure Program for 2027 to Congress on Aug. 11.
Congressional committee hearings to scrutinize specific agency lines begin today, Aug. 17.
