ADMINISTRATION lawmakers yesterday challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to answer findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) on alleged fake recipients of her confidential funds instead of making “baseless” allegations of corruption against the leadership of House of Representatives.
Deputy Speaker David Suarez and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V issued the statement after Duterte on Wednesday night talked about rumors to oust Speaker Martin Romualdez.
She told reporters in Cagayan de Oro City that even if Romualdez is replaced, “hindi na natin maibabalik ‘yung pera na nawala dahil sa korapsyon (we can no longer return the money lost to corruption).”
Ortega said, “Instead making big accusations, it would be better for her to face legitimate questions about the use of confidential and intelligence funds work more than P600 million.”
Suarez said the Vice President should to stop misleading the public with “sweeping” allegations of corruption, adding that she is obviously just trying to “deflect attention from the credible and well-documented charges against her in the Articles of Impeachment.”
“There’s no basis for the allegations of corruption against the House leadership. The real issue is the confidential funds that Vice President Sara Duterte spent in only 11 days and the fact that recipients’ names seem to be fictitious,” he said in Filipino.
Suarez particularly cited the dubious names “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Jay Kamote,” “Xiaome Ocho,” and others in the list of confidential funds recipients. “This is what she has to explain instead of accusing others,” he said.
He told Duterte that unlike in her case which is based on official COA findings and disbursement records, there are no such findings “that implicates the Speaker or the House of Representatives in any form of corruption.”
Among specific acts listed in the impeachment complaint is the Vice President’s alleged illegal use of P612.5 million in confidential funds during her concurrent tenure as Vice President and education secretary.
The complaint cited the Vice President’s spending of P125 million out of P612.5 million in confidential funds in just 11 days in December 2022 and her use of confidential funds even if she does not have a mandate under the law to conduct intelligence or surveillance operations.
Duterte is also accused of approving the release of a P112.5 million in confidential funds when she was Education secretary, with liquidation reports identifying supposed intelligence recipients with fictitious names.
“These are not mere political statements—they are findings backed by audit reports, official documents, and sworn statements. The Vice President owes the public a clear and honest explanation. If she believes in transparency, she should welcome the opportunity to respond to these charges in the Senate,” Suarez said.
Impeachment trial by the Senate is expected to start in July. Duterte was impeached on February 5 after 215 lawmakers endorsed the verified impeachment complaint filed by the majority bloc, exceeding by 113 signatories the constitutional requirement of one-third of all members of the House of Representatives which has 306 members.
FAKE MEMO
The National Security Council disowned a supposed memorandum to President Marcos Jr, which is making rounds on social media, about an alleged US recommendation to prioritize Duterte’s impeachment.
In a statement on Wednesday, NSC Assistant Director General and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the memorandum, supposedly signed by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, “is fake and a clear fabrication.”
The fake memorandum, dated April 18, discussed an alleged virtual meeting between Año and US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz which it said took place on April 11.
Malaya confirmed the virtual meeting happened on April 11. He said he issued a readout of the conversation on the following day, and Año reported to the President the result of the call on April 13, he said.
The fake memorandum indicated that both sides agreed to strengthen relations between the US and Philippines, and the need to establish a multilateral coalition to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, among others.
It also said US sees Duterte as the “most competitive presidential candidate” and “if she is successfully elected, not only will it be difficult for President Marcos leaving office safely but PH-US relationship may once again return to a complicated situation which is a result that neither side wants to see.”
“US recommended making impeachment proceedings against VP Sara a priority to manage political risks, emphasizing US would be happy to support.”
Malaya said no such document was submitted by Año to the office of President Marcos.
“The barcode on the fake document corresponds to another document and was maliciously transferred to it,” he also said.
“For the record, the US has not involved itself in the domestic affairs nor in political matters of the Philippines and we will never allow such to happen,” he added.
Malaya said the NSC will work with the PNP Anti-Cyber Crime Group, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to identify the people behind the fake memorandum.
“We will get to the bottom of this and we will file administrative and criminal charges against all those responsible,” he said. – With Victor Reyes
