THE House prosecution panel expects the Office of the Ombudsman to file criminal cases against Vice President Sara Duterte over the alleged misuse of confidential funds, after the agency announced it has begun evaluating the evidence.
Panel spokesman and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong issued the statement on Sunday, noting that the investigation could lead to charges against officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
“I anticipate that there will be a case that will be filed by the Ombudsman in relation to the confidential funds misuse of the VP, and as well as when she was still serving as the DepEd secretary,” Adiong said in a radio interview.
He said the alleged misuse involved not only misappropriation but also the possible squandering of public funds, warranting a separate investigation from the impeachment trial, which can only remove impeachable officials from office.
Adiong cited the Commission on Audit’s (COA) final decision upholding the disallowance of P73 million in confidential funds and requiring their return.
The Ombudsman’s review has acquired greater significance following the COA’s October 5 resolution denying with finality the motion for reconsideration involving P73.287 million in disallowed confidential expenses incurred by the OVP in December 2022.
The COA ruling covered expenditures that auditors found inadequately supported under government accounting requirements, while the broader congressional investigations examined confidential fund allocations totaling P612.5 million for the OVP and DepEd.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has said his office would require the prosecution panel to turn over evidence before taking the next step.
“The Ombudsman wouldn’t do that without realizing that the quantum of evidence required when filing a criminal charge is, in fact, ‘beyond reasonable doubt,’” he said.
In a separate forum, prosecutor and Manila 2nd District Rep. Joel Chua confirmed the prosecution’s willingness to submit its documents and other relevant materials to the Ombudsman.
Chua said the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which he chaired during the 19th Congress, had already submitted a committee report regarding Duterte’s confidential fund expenditures to the Ombudsman.
“So, it is now up to the Ombudsman to decide how to act on it,” he said.
The misuse of confidential funds is one of the three articles of impeachment the prosecution team will no longer pursue, along with grave threats and bribery.
This, however, should not be interpreted as a dismissal of the underlying questions about the use of public money, Chua said.
“Once this impeachment process concludes, and the fact that we dropped some of the articles does not mean that our vice president is now exempt from accountability. Her accountability will still be pursued through other means, specifically through criminal proceedings,” he said.
The allegations against Duterte include improper disbursement and reporting of confidential funds, hundreds of acknowledgment receipts bearing spurious names, and records indicating that security officers, rather than the designated disbursing officer, released the funds.
Chua said the prosecution’s evidence should remain available to investigators even after the impeachment proceedings conclude.
