Lawmakers: COA audit on OVP's confidential funds not for impeachment

The House committee on appropriations’ move to subpoena Commission on Audit (COA) findings on the use of confidential funds by the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte won’t be used to initiate impeachment against her, lawmakers said Wednesday.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo lawmaker Janetter Garin and 1-Rider party-list legislator Rodge Gutierrez made the statement a day after Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that some House lawmakers are planning to file an impeachment complaint against her.

“The motion [made during the House appropriations committee deliberations] came from Hon. France Castro, and I understand that the goal is to prove that the allocation of confidential funds is made in proper context,” Garin said.

“The point made was there has to be safeguard on where confidential funds should be spent. Sa pananaw ko, hindi naman ‘yun (impeachment) ang intensyon," she added.

"Ang intensyon ay para hindi na maulit, kung sakaling meron talagang misuse ng confidential funds.” 

(I don’t think the intention is for her impeachment. The intention here is to prevent misuse of confidential funds, if ever there was any.)

Premature

Gutierrez, for his part, said such a possibility is premature to discuss. 

"Let's cross the bridge when we get there. We don't want to preempt the COA findings, if ever they decide to release it based on the subpoena," Gutierrez said.

The Vice President has repeatedly said that the House of Representatives is seeking to impeach her, but the House members have also repeatedly denied this.

"Pinag-uusapan nila kahit na i-deny nila. Pinaguusapan ng members ng House of Representatives. Kasi meron pa naman kaming mga kaibigan diyan sa loob eh na hindi lang nagsasalita dahil takot daw sila. So sinasabi nila it's openly discussed ‘yung impeachment," Sara said on Tuesday.

(They talk about it even if they deny it. This is being discussed by members of the House of Representatives. We still have friends there who just don't talk because they are afraid, but they say the impeachment is openly discussed.) 

Confidential fund

During the proposed 2024 budget deliberations last year, it was revealed by the COA that the OVP spent P125 million worth of confidential fund in 11 days within December 2022, even if the 2022 national budget did not have a budget item for confidential fund for the OVP. 

This revelation prompted the House of Representatives to strip the OVP and the Department of Education of P650 million worth of confidential funds under the then proposed 2024 national budget.

The Vice President eventually relented and did not pursue the inclusion of P650 million confidential funds for the OVP (P500 million) and Department of Education (P150) which she was still heading at that time.

The approved 2024 national budget did not contain provisions for confidential funds for OVP and the Education department.

The Vice President has since resigned from her post as Education chief in June in an apparent fallout with her 2022 running mate, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. —VAL, GMA Integrated News