VP Sara: No misuse of OVP confi funds

Vice President Sara Duterte has stood firm that there was no misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022.

The Vice President made the remark after House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro said Friday that Duterte’s alleged failure to comply with the rules for 2022's P73 million confidential funds was a ground for impeachment.

“There was no misuse of any funds. There is, however, [an] unending political attack by the Makabayan-Romualdez-Marcos alliance to mask the real problem of the country right now,” Duterte told GMA Integrated News' Jonathan Andal.

“This is the sad plight of the poor and the hungry because of the unabated rise of food prices. Ordinary citizens’ principles are not for sale, ayuda will not solve the growing dissent. It is a classic ‘wag the dog’ piece,” she added.

Duterte also told her critics, “Dapat magtrabaho muna bago pulitika [you should work first before politicking].”

The Commission on Audit (COA) had issued a Notice of Disallowance on P73 million out of the P125 million confidential funds the Office of the Vice President, under Duterte, disbursed in 11 days.

COA Assistant Commissioner Alexander Juliano explained during the budget deliberations of the OVP’s P2 billion budget proposal for 2025 that the Notice of Disallowance meant that the expenditure was “either irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable.”

According to Castro, Duterte “broke the law” and the COA’s findings showed “a clear betrayal of public trust.”

“COA's findings reveal a glaring misuse of public funds. It is becoming apparent that Duterte was banking on the supposed veil of secrecy around Confidential Funds to hide her unlawful use of people's money,” the solon said.

"Hindi naman pwedeng gagawa ng kalokohan tapos pababayaan na lang, dapat may accountability. Her misuse of confidential funds is an impeachable offense. Sa paglulustay ng confidential funds, sa panahong kulang na kulang ang pondo para sa serbisyong publiko, at sa pagtangging ipaliwanag ito sa taumbayan, malinaw na may batayan ang impeachment,” Castro added.

(She cannot misuse the funds and get away with it. There should be accountability. Misuse of these funds amid lack of funding for social services and refusal to explain the spending are clear grounds for impeachment.)

Earlier during a House proceeding, Duterte said that impeachment efforts allegedly orchestrated by members of the chamber against her were documented. — RSJ, GMA integrated News