Lawmakers, ex-solons file petition vs. OVP’s P125-M confidential funds

Another petition against the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP)2022 P125-million confidential funds reached the Supreme Court as Makabayan bloc representatives and former lawmakers on Monday called for its release to be declared void and unconstitutional.

In a 36-page petition for certiorari, the petitioners also asked the Supreme Court to declare void the use of the said confidential funds and to declare this as auditable by the Commission on Audit (COA).

The bloc also sought the return of the P125 million to the government.

“Ang prayer natin sa Supreme Court, ideklara null and void, unconstitutional, itong pag-release, pag-request, pag-receive, paggasta nitong, ni Sara Duterte, nitong confidential funds,” ACT-Teacher party-list Representative France Castro said in an ambush interview.

(Our prayer is for the SC to declare null and void and unconstitutional the release, request, receipt, and use by Sara Duterte of the confidential funds.)

“At kung mapatunayan na ito ay unconstitutional, kailangan niya ibalik [and if it is proven unconstitutional, it must be returned],” she added.

The petitioners are Castro, Gabriela Women’s party-list Representative Arlene Brosas, Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares, and former Bayan Muna representatives Carlos Isagani Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat, among others.

Meanwhile, the named respondents are Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, on behalf of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba, as a necessary party.

Castro said Duterte should be made to explain how the OVP used the P125 million.

“Dahil hindi kami sinagot sa budget hearing. Kahit hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin siya nag sasalita tungkol doon sa pag gasta niya nung P125 million. Kaya ang panawagan talaga namiin sa Supreme Court ay i-compel siya paano niya ginsata in 11 days itong confidential funds,” Castro said.

(Because she did not answer us during the budget hearing. Until now, she has not spoken up about her usage of the P125 million. So we are asking the Supreme Court to compel her to explain how she used it in 11 days.)

Back in August, Duterte maintained that there was "nothing irregular or unauthorized" about how the funds were spent. It was COA that initially disclosed that the OVP spent P125 million in 11 days in December 2022.

Colmenares said he did not believe that the OVP could have spent the confidential funds in 11 days in accordance with the guidelines.

“There is no way, ang tingin namin, na magastos niya ‘yun in 11 days, Pasko pa, ang P125 million na naaayon doon sa guidelines ng confidential funds, no? So we’re hoping na magkaroon ng linaw,” he said.

(We do not think that there is a way she spent the P125 million in 11 days, during Christmas, that is in accordance with the guidelines. So we're hoping it will be clear.)

Colmenares also stressed that the supposed “obsession” of civilian agencies with confidential funds should be stopped.

“Bakit ayaw nilang ilagay sa budget ‘yung programs and activities and projects nila para pondohan? Bakit gusto nila sa confidential funds ilagay. May plano ba sila na nakawin ito, tratuhin ito na parang personal nilang pera? Itong mga civilian agencies, ha? I’m just not talking about the Vice President here,” he said.

(Why don't they want to put their programs, activities, and projects in the budget so these can be funded? Why do they want to place these in the confidential funds? Do they have plans to steal these, or treat these as their money? This is for civilian agencies, ha? I'm not just talking about the Vice President here.)

“So dapat mahinto ito kasi grabeng bilyon bilyon ang nade-drain sa public funds natin kada budget na lang para dito sa secret funds ng maraming ahensya ng gobyerno,” Colmenares added.

(This should be stopped because billions are drained from our public funds every budget deliberations for the secret funds of these government agencies.)

A similar petition was filed by former Commission on Elections chairman Augusto Lagman, Constitutional framer Christian Monsod, and former Finance undersecretary Maria Cielo Magno, among others, before the SC on November 7.

On November 15, several lawyers, priests, and law students also asked the Supreme Court to declare the order and circular that covers the disbursement of confidential and intelligence funds null and void. Among them was retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the respondents but has yet to receive a response as of posting time. 

The petition

According to the petition, the release of the confidential funds to the OVP in 2022 without congressional authorization violated Section 1, Article 6 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines.”

“While it is true that the Chief Executive has some discretion and flexibility in the budget execution stage, this power must only be exercised within the bounds set by the Constitution and the appropriate laws,” it read.

The petitioners cited Section 25(2) and Section 25(6) of Article 6, which they said bar the president from creating confidential funds out of the Contingent Fund. 

They also cited Section 25(5) as preventing the president from moving any portion of the Contingent Fund as a “transfer to” any agency.

Further, the petitioners said that the OVP has no grounds to maintain that the P125 million are confidential funds as there was no item placed under confidential expense under the congressional appropriation of the OVP.

“In other words, there was no appropriation—or any congressional fiat to spend a certain amount for a particular purpose—for confidential expenses in 2022, yet Respondent Duterte caused the obligation and disbursement of P125 Million as confidential funds,” they said.

The petitioners said that due to this, every payment made for confidential expenses should be illegal and every public official and private individual who received the payment should be held liable for full restitution.

“Any insistence that the P125 million was spent for payment of informants or rental safehouse, for instance, renders the responsible officers vulnerable to these liabilities,” the petitioners said.

Sought for comment, Budget Undersecretary for Media Affairs and Community Relations and Spokesperson Goddes Libiran said they have yet to receive a copy of the petition.

"Nevertheless, we shall work closely with the Office of the Solicitor General on this," she said. — BM, GMA Integrated News