The House prosecution panel on Thursday, August 27, maintained that ongoing proceedings before the Commission on Audit (COA) would not weaken its impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
During a press conference, prosecution spokesperson and lawmaker Rep. Renee Co said the COA process and the impeachment proceedings may proceed simultaneously because they apply different standards in determining accountability.
“Pwede pong magkasabay yung proseso ng COA at ng taumbayan para sa pananagutan. At iba rin po yung standards niya,” Co said.
She explained that COA applies administrative rules and regulations in reviewing government expenditures, while the impeachment court is examining Duterte’s actions, signatures, decisions, and alleged lack of planning in handling confidential and intelligence funds to determine whether these amount to betrayal of public trust.
“Ang standard na ini-implement ng COA ay yung kanyang rules and regulations. Administrative. And dito naman po sa impeachment court, ang minimeasure natin ay ang mga naging gawain, pirma, at mga kawalan ng plano ni VP Sara sa Confidential and Intelligence Funds. Does that constitute betrayal of public trust?” Co said.
The issue arose after Senator-judge Migz Zubiri called on COA to resolve the Office of the Vice President’s appeals or motions for reconsideration concerning notices of disallowance involving its confidential funds.
COA had previously issued a final notice of disallowance involving a portion of the 2022 confidential funds, while notices covering the ₱375 million in confidential funds released in three tranches in 2023 were still subject to the audit process and possible appeals.
Co stressed that the prosecution is looking beyond the eventual administrative resolution of the audit findings, focusing instead on whether Duterte exercised her responsibilities in accordance with the standards expected of a public official.
According to Co, the prosecution is examining whether there was a clear plan for every request for confidential funds and whether the funds were properly accounted for through audit reports without irregularities.
“Nakikita natin yung dami ng anomalya at bumubuo na yung picture na yung argument ng prosecution na binali yung tiwala na ito,” she said.
Co also emphasized that the ongoing COA proceedings do not prevent other accountability mechanisms, including impeachment proceedings and potentially criminal cases, from separately evaluating the same conduct under their respective legal standards.
“Hindi naman po beholden yung other processes, whether it be at the impeachment, at kung magtuloy-tuloy yun, criminal, sa mga proseso na sinasaalang-alang yung kanilang mga gawain at ano yung paglabag ng iba't ibang rules dito,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Zia Adiong directly rejected the suggestion that a possible COA resolution or restitution of disallowed funds would diminish the prosecution’s case.
“No, we don't think so,” Adiong said when asked whether the COA proceedings could weaken the impeachment case.
Adiong said that even if the approximately ₱73 million in 2022 confidential funds were eventually restituted, such action would not erase the alleged violation committed at the time the funds were handled.
“Even if let's say that the 78 or 73 million pesos from the 2022 last quarter confidential funds has been restituted, it will never condone the fact that she violated from the very start the JMC,” he said.
Adiong argued that Duterte, as Vice President and a lawyer, was expected to comply with the guidelines and criteria governing the use of confidential funds from the outset.
He characterized any possible restitution as an issue of administrative compliance with a COA order, separate from the impeachment question of whether Duterte violated her constitutional duties and betrayed public trust.
“But as to the violation, that's a separate case altogether because now that the Senate sitting as an impeaching [court] has already taken cognizance and ownership over this issue, then the proceeding for the issue of impeaching the Vice President should continue on,” Adiong said.
The prosecution panel's position comes as the impeachment trial continues to examine allegations surrounding the use of confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during Duterte’s tenure.
The panel maintains that the outcome of COA’s administrative proceedings, including any restitution or resolution of appeals, should not determine the Senate’s separate assessment of whether the Vice President committed acts constituting betrayal of public trust.
