Former Commission on Audit–Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) state auditor Roderick Wamil said the use of aliases in the disbursement of confidential funds is “neither prohibited nor allowed,” citing the absence of any provision in the governing joint memorandum circular.

Wamil made the statement during clarificatory questioning by Senator-Judge Bam Aquino on the 13th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, August 5.

According to Wamil, the joint circular is “silent” on whether aliases may be used by recipients of confidential funds.

He added that audits conducted by COA-ICFAO are primarily document-based, limiting the agency’s ability to verify whether names appearing in records are real or fictitious.

“Document-based po kami, so wala po kaming way to determine if this is an alias or not,” Wamil said, noting that auditors rely solely on the face of submitted documents.

Aquino also questioned Wamil on the distinction between official receipts (ORs) and acknowledgment receipts (ARs), particularly in the context of auditing confidential fund expenditures.

Wamil explained that official receipts are issued by Bureau of Internal Revenue-registered establishments and serve as proof of purchase by a government agency. In contrast, acknowledgment receipts are issued by individuals to confirm receipt of payment.

“Kapag purchases po kasi, kailangan po talagang OR yung ibigay sa amin kasi dun po namin tinitingnan kung nag-purchase po talaga sila,” Wamil said.

He added that official receipts allow auditors to trace transactions to specific sellers, while acknowledgment receipts provide limited information, typically only indicating the recipient of the funds and the fact of payment.

“Pag-AR po kasi, kung ano lang po talaga yung nandun sa face ng document, yun lang po yung basis namin since document-based po yung audit namin. Pag-AR po kasi, makikita lang po doon kung saan binili,” he said.

Pressed by Aquino on whether documents submitted for audit are expected to bear the names of real individuals, Wamil said auditors generally assume that the names indicated are legitimate.