Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday welcomed the filing of impeachment complaints against her at the House of Representatives, saying she is ready to face moves to have her ousted from her position,
“I welcome that finally, na-file na iyong impeachment case na sinasabi nilang I-file nila since last year pa (the impeachment case which they said they’ll file since last year has finally been filed),” she said in an interview.
The Vice President said she is glad that her detractors are zeroing in on her and not on her subordinates in both the OVP and the Department of Education, which she used to head as concurrent education secretary.
“Okay din iyong impeachment case dahil ako lang iyong tinitira duon. Ako lang ang iniimbestigahan doon, ako lang ang inaatake ng impeachment case, hindi kasali yung mga kasamahan ko sa OVP and iyong mga dati kong kasama sa Department of Education (The impeachment is okay, too, because I’m the only one under attack there. I’m the only one being investigated there, I’m the only one being attacked in an impeachment case, not my subordinates at the OVP and my former associates at DepEd),” she said.
Last Thursday, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and former Makabayan bloc lawmakers led 75 complainants in filing a second impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
The complaint, coming just two days after the first one which was filed by civil society and religious organizations, cited only one ground — betrayal of public trust.
The complaint cited Duterte’s alleged “abuse and misuse” of a total of P612.5 million in confidential funds in both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
It was endorsed by Makabayan bloc lawmakers party-list Reps. France Castro (ACT), Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan who urged their colleagues to follow their conscience when the complaints are put to a vote.
The first impeachment complaint filed Monday by civil society groups led by the Akbayan party-list group accuses the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes for various acts.
It was also anchored on the Vice President’s alleged misuse of confidential funds and other violations such as her threat to have President Marcos Jr. assassinated, along with his wife Liza and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez, in case she gets killed.
DEATH THREAT
The Vice President, who is also being investigated by the NBI for her threatening the President, said her lawyers told her that she does not have to physically be present to explain her remarks.
“Pwede kaming mag-submit na lang daw ng sulat or affidavit, depende sa aking desisyon or position paper. Hindi rin ako makakapunta kasi, well unang-una na ‘yan, tapos pangalawa mayroon kaming thanksgiving na mga activity sa December 11 (I was told that we can just file a letter or an affidavit, depending on my decision or a position paper. I also can’t go there because first of all, we have a thanksgiving activity on December 11),” she said.
PLUNDER, CRIMINAL RAPS
Meanwhile, administration lawmakers yesterday warned Duterte and her subordinates that she could be liable for plunder and other criminal charges for her alleged misuse of confidential funds in both the OVP and the DepEd.
“Let me remind the public of what is at stake here: it would constitute graft and corruption if public funds are misused or misappropriated or worse, if funds are diverted to personal use or benefit. And given the amount we are talking about here, this is clearly plunder,” Antipolo Rep, Romeo Acop said in his opening statement during the yesterday’s hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
Acop cited the tens of millions of confidential funds that were withdrawn and encashed quarterly by Special Disbursing Officers (SDOs), who then handed them over to “security officers.”
He was referring to the testimonies of OVP SDO Gina Acosta that she encashed P125 million every quarter between late 2022 and 2023, while SDO Edward Fajarda encashed P37.5 million per quarter in the same department which Duterte headed as concurrent education secretary until last June.
“Malalaking halaga po ang mga ito. Sa OVP pa lang, nakakakuha sila ng P125 million kada quarter simula noong Q4 of 2022 hanggang Q3 of 2023. Sa DepEd naman, P37.5 million per quarter for three quarters, or a total of P112.5 million (These are huge amounts. At the OVP alone, they got P125 million per quarter since the fourth quarter of 2022 until the third quarter of 2023. At DepEd, it was P37.5 million for three quarters or a total of P112.5 million),” Acop said.
Both Acosta and SDOs testified that their roles ended once the funds were handed to security officers, with no oversight or documentation of how the funds were used.
Fajarda earlier told the good government panel that Col. Dennis Nolasco, a security officer at the DepEd, was the one who disbursed the agency’s P112.5 million confidential funds in 2023, while Acosta said that she gave the P125 million from the agency’s 2023 secret funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, head of the Vice President Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).
Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol) said Duterte and her subordinates can also be charged with technical malversation under the Revised Penal Code, which, he said, “means that an accountable officer applies public funds to another purpose.”
“Kahit public purpose pa ‘yan (Even if it’s for a public purpose), which is different from which they were originally appropriated for by law or ordinance. Sa madaling salita, ginamit sa iba ang pera ng taongbayan (In other words, the people’s money was used for other purposes),” he said.
Bongalon noted that penalties for such offense include imprisonment of six years and one day to 12 years.
He said the admissions of Fajarda and Acosta that they handed the funds to security officers without knowing how the money was spent directly violated Commission on Audit-Department of Budget and Management Joint Circular No. 2015-001 which governs the use of confidential funds.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said perjury is also one of the charges that can be filed against the former DepEd officials, who made their testimonies under oath before the Chua panel.
Luistro explained the elements of written perjury, citing the certifications submitted by the SDOs to the COA on the liquidation of confidential funds.
The SDOs signed a certification submitted to the COA, duly notarized, for the confidential funds even if they had no idea how the funds were disbursed.
Luistro said Duterte and her subordinates could also be liable for bribery for giving away cash gifts to select DepEd officials while Pimentel said falsification of public documents can also be lodged against them f or fabricating signatures in the acknowledgment receipts used as liquidation documents to the COA.
Pimentel cited the cases of Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin who have no birth, marriage and death records in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PANEL DECISION
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, panel chair, said the committee will still have to meet to decide if they will recommend plunder and other criminal complaints against the Vice President and her staff.
“We’ll discuss it with other members and let other agencies continue the investigation. It’s not the committee’s job to prosecute,” he told a press conference after the hearing.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto-Adiong agreed that the recommendations for the filing of criminal charges will still have to be deliberated upon by the panel, adding that lawmakers may ask appropriate agencies to pursue their own investigation and file charges if warranted.
