The House prosecution panel on Monday said the acknowledgment receipts presented during the 11th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial were intended to demonstrate alleged inconsistencies in the liquidation documents submitted for the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds.
During a post-trial press briefing, House Prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua explained that the prosecution highlighted several names appearing in the acknowledgment receipts, including "Mary Grace Piattos" and "Andy Lim," not to focus on the identities themselves, but to underscore what the panel described as discrepancies in the dates of the supporting documents.
“Let me explain kung ano yung mga nangyari kanina. Dito pinakita yung mga iba't ibang pangalan. Lumabas yung mga pangalan nila, Mary Grace Piatos, Andy Lim, kung maaalala ninyo. Pero kung titingnan ninyo, yung supposedly na inaudit ay para po sa confidential fund na ni-release sa Office of the Vice President noong December 2022,” Chua said.
He pointed out that some of the acknowledgment receipts presented as justification for the December 2022 confidential funds were dated December 2023, or one year after the funds had been released.
“Pero yung ginamit po nila, ng mga acknowledgement receipt bilang justification dito sa pondong ito na kanilang dinisburse o ginamit, kung mapapansin ninyo ay mayroong December 2023 or one year thereafter,” he said.
Chua further noted that the OVP no longer had confidential funds allocated during the fourth quarter of 2023, making the use of receipts dated in December 2023 questionable.
“Yung quarter na December 2023, wala nang confidential fund ang OVP... Kasi yung apat na quarter na meron ang OVP, December 2022, first quarter ng 2023, second quarter ng 2023, at third quarter ng 2023. Pero yung ginagamit nilang justification para sa December 2022 ay nasa last quarter ng December 2023. So dito pa lang makikita mo na yung problema,” he added.
The prosecutor also cited another discrepancy involving receipts dated November 2022, a period before the confidential funds for the OVP had even been released.
“Mayroon pa rin doon na ginamit na justification na ang petsa ay November 2022. Itong buwan na ito, wala pang confidential fund. Dahil ang confidential fund... ay para sa petsang December 2022, hindi kasama ang November 2022,” Chua said.
He added that, based on the explanation of the Commission on Audit (COA) witness presented during the trial, the dates indicated in the receipts did not align with the release of the confidential funds, raising questions about the supporting documentation used in the liquidation.
Chua also defended the prosecution's use of summary documents instead of presenting every acknowledgment receipt individually, saying the approach is permitted under the Rules of Court.
“Ginamit na summary kasi ito po ay allowed sa Rules of Court... nakasaad po ito sa Section 7 ng Rule 130 ng Rules of Court. Pag marami ang volume at iisa lamang ang nais na tumbukin, puwede itong gamitin at hindi na kinakailangang isa-isahin,” he explained.
The prosecution maintains that the summarized evidence was presented to illustrate recurring patterns in the supporting documents related to the OVP's confidential fund expenditures, which form part of the allegations under the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte.
