A brief exchange between the prosecution and defense drew attention during the 12th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Tuesday, August 4, after House private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan described certain audit documents as “copy-paste,” prompting an objection from defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa.
The exchange occurred while Kapunan was questioning former Commission on Audit Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) auditor Atty. Roderick Wamil regarding documents submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in connection with its confidential fund expenditures.
Kapunan asked Wamil about his observations on three documents presented before the impeachment court. Wamil said he had no noted observations because the documents were “pro forma” and followed the format attached to Joint Circular 2015-01.
"Since these are pro forma documents po, wala naman po akong nanote na observations with these certifications," Wamil testified.
When asked what “pro forma” meant, Wamil explained that the documents were based on the format attached as an annex to Joint Circular 2015-01.
"Naka-attach po siya as annex dun sa Joint Circular 2015-01," Wamil said.
Kapunan then asked if the submitted documents followed the format provided in the joint circular.
"Naka-annex po," Wamil replied.
Kapunan followed up by asking what the document format was called.
"Proforma po," Wamil answered.
The prosecutor then made her remark.
"Naka-annex yung format doon sa Joint Circular 2015-01. Ang tawag ko doon, copy-paste. Na copy-paste," Kapunan said.
Defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa immediately raised an objection over the characterization.
"Your Honor, again with all due respect to opposing counsel, I would like to object to that characterization," Poa said.
Kapunan then withdrew her remark.
"I withdraw, Your Honor. I just couldn't resist myself," she said.
The questioning later shifted to Wamil’s evaluation of the documents based on Joint Circular 2015-01 and the alleged deficiencies noted during the audit.
Kapunan asked Wamil about the violations he observed across the submitted documents. Wamil clarified that the first and second quarters were covered by one Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM), while the third quarter had a separate AOM.
Wamil explained that an AOM serves as a written notification to an agency regarding deficiencies found during an audit and requires the submission of explanations or supporting documents.
"Based on the Joint Circular 2015-01, yung audit observation memorandum po ay yung written notification to the agency informing them of the deficiencies noted during the audit and requiring them to submit an explanation or the documents being sought po sa AOM or both," Wamil testified.
He added that an AOM is issued after an auditor evaluates documents and identifies findings during the audit process.
"Ini-issue po siya upon evaluation po ng auditor, noong documents at may na-note po siyang findings based on the evaluation po," Wamil said.
Wamil is the prosecution’s witness for Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which involves allegations of misuse and misappropriation of confidential funds by Vice President Sara Duterte.
