Solon says COA report on DepEd to fortify case vs Sara
A HOUSE prosecutor in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday urged his colleagues in the prosecution panel to include the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) on P12.3 billion in alleged unsettled financial transactions of the Department of Education (DepEd), as additional evidence against the former concurrent education secretary.
COA’s 2023 annual audit report released in September last year flagged DepEd’s failure to settle notices of suspension, of disallowance, and of charge, which reached P12.3 billion by the end of Duterte’s term as education secretary in June last year. The amount increased from P11.4 billion in 2022, an indication there was little to no progress in resolving the flagged transactions.
Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider) said the COA’s findings for fiscal year 2023 will further strengthen the case against the Vice President who was impeached last week for graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust, among others.
Gutierrez said that while the House of Representatives has enough evidence to secure a conviction, his fellow prosecutors may still consider including the COA’s findings for fiscal year 2023 to further boost their case.
“But if it would be found to be in line with our allegations in the impeachment complaint, then I don’t think the prosecution team would … shy away from making use of such evidence,” he told a press conference in mixed Filipino and English. “So I’m pretty sure that the prosecution team will be open to all of these additional avenues to secure even more evidence .”
The other members of the panel are minority leader Marcelino Libanan and Reps. Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo), Gerville Luistro (Batangas), Romeo Acop (Antipolo City), Joel Chua (Manila), Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol), Loreto Acharon (General Santos City), Arnan Panaligan (Oriental Mindoro), Ysabel Maria Zamora (San Juan City), Jonathan Keith Flores (Bukidnon), and
The Articles of Impeachment, which the House transmitted to the Senate on February 5, also accuses the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution and other high crimes based on specific impeachable offenses, which include her alleged threat to have President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated.
HOUSE PROBE
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun urged the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Chua to also include the COA’s findings in its ongoing investigation.
“The red flags keep piling up. First, it was P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Now, COA has flagged over P12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd under Duterte’s leadership. This isn’t just an oversight, it’s a pattern of seemingly financial mismanagement,” Khonghun said.
It was the good government panel that investigated the OVP’s expenditure of P125 million in confidential funds in just over 11 days in December 2022.
It was also revealed in the hearings that 1,322 of 1,992 listed recipients of these funds lacked birth records, raising concerns about possible fabrication of acknowledgment receipts.
The Chua committee also looked into DepEd’s use of P112.5 million in confidential funds. The Philippine Statistics Authority found that 405 of 677 listed recipients had no birth records, adding to concerns about the authenticity of these transactions.
Taguig City Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora said the good government panel is planning to inquire into the DepEd disallowances during VP Duterte’s time as education secretary.
“On whether we plan to bring this up to the good government committee? Yes. In fact, it was already discussed by other members because of the proposal of Cong. Khonghun,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
House prosecutors are planning to subpoena Duterte’s bank records once the Senate is convened as an impeachment court to bolster their allegation that she has unexplained wealth.
Among the impeachable acts allegedly committed by the Vice President is having unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets since Duterte’s statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) revealed a quadrupling of her net worth from 2007 to 2017, without a legitimate increase in income; at least P2 billion in suspicious transactions linked to joint bank accounts shared with former President Rodrigo Duterte; and a total unexplained income of P111.6 million from 2006 to 2015.
Failure to fully disclose assets and sources of income is a culpable violation of Section 17, Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Zamora said the House’s case is already solid, with or without her bank records, but acknowledged that obtaining financial documents would further solidify their case because it would serve as proof of the money trail.
“The prosecution team is ready to present a strong case, even without the bank records. The evidence we have right now is compelling and backed by documents, testimonies, and official records,” Zamora said. “But if we can secure the Vice President’s financial records, it will be the icing on the cake—a definitive, undeniable piece of evidence that will speak for itself, supporting several of the Articles of Impeachment”
ADJOURNED TOO EARLY
Zamora said the Senate could have immediately acted on the Articles on Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte had it decided to adjourn session on February 7 instead of February 5.
She said the Senate could have held sessions on February 6 and 7 instead of adjourning on February 5 since Congress was set to adjourn session on February 7 to give way to the campaign period for the midterm elections.
While the House and the Senate only hold sessions from Monday to Wednesday, sessions can also be held on Thursdays and Fridays if lawmakers decide there is a need for it. February 5 was a Wednesday.
“Based on the approved calendar of session of the Third Regular Session, the resumption of session started on Jan. 13, 2025 and ended last Feb. 7, 2025,” Zamora said.
She said “technically,” there was still time as there were two days left.
Senate President Francis Escudero on Tuesday said the actual impeachment trial will begin after President Marcos Jr delivers his State of the Nation (SONA) in July, which will be when the 20th Congress officially starts.
Congress is on break from February 8 to June 1 for the midterm elections, and will resume regular sessions on June 2 to June 13, then go on sine die adjournment from June 14 to July 27, which officially ends the 19th Congress. The 20th Congress will start on July 28.
Gutierrez said impeachment is a constituent power which is “not strictly bound by legislative rules or the calendar.”
“I’m of the interpretation of the opinion that impeachment is a constituent power, not bound by legislative rules, legislative function and therefore not bound by the legislative calendar,” he said.
While stressing they respect the Senate’s decision, members of the prosecution team have said the impeachment proceedings should begin as soon as possible as mandated by Section 3 (4) of Article XI (Accountability of Public Officers) of the Constitution, which provides: “In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by one-third of all the members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.”
Defensor said since the Constitution provides that trial shall “proceed forthwith,” it means that the trial should be held immediately. However, he has said the House respects the Senate’s decision on the timeline of the trial, adding that everything will depend on the rules governing the impeachment proceedings the will be adopted by senators.
LIVE BROADCAST
Escudero said the impeachment trial will be aired real time on national television and social media sites so that the people may see how the trial is going on.
“This will be broadcast live on TV. So, what will convince a senator will also convince the people. If the people are not convinced, the senators may also have a hard time getting convinced by their party or group affiliation, when it is time for them to vote,” he added.
Escudero said the reason he has been reminding his colleagues to refrain from making public their stand on the impeachment is that evidence from either side has yet to be presented. Several senators said they will “block” the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
Escudero said members of the impeachment court should base their judgment on evidence, and not on party affiliation.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Escudero said while an impeachment trial is considered a “political exercise,” it does not follow that the members of the impeachment court will ignore evidence to be presented during the proceedings.
He said that the senator-judges should also listen to the sentiments of the people, which may help them arrive at a sound decision on the Vice President.
“When you say political exercise, it is not just about affiliations. When you say political, it should be the decision of the majority. Aristotle defines politics as the art of influencing other people. So, in a political exercise, the prosecution team should convince the judges to convict the accused. The defense team needs to convince the judges to acquit the accused,” he said in Filipino.
“They need to convince the judges that they will vote wisely in front of the people who voted for them. To my understanding, that it’s the political exercise we are referring to, and not just it be based on the senators’ affiliations or groups,” he added.
‘PREMATURE’
Makati Mayor Abby Binay, a senatorial candidate of the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, said it is “premature” and “unfair” for senatorial candidates to state their position on the issue because they could be the judges of the case if they win a Senate seat.
“I think because we as senators will be judges. So, we will have to be impartial. To answer the question will give a premature position,” she told a press conference in Laoag City, where the administration slate held its kick-off rally.
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, also a member of the Alyansa slate, said the issue on when the trial will begin will surely reach the Supreme Court, saying the rules governing impeachment proceedings during his time provides that “the Senate shall continue the session until final judgment is rendered,” regardless of whether Congress adjourns session or not.
However, Sotto said, a rule states that all matters and proceedings shall be terminated upon the expiration of one Congress.
“This is a justiciable issue,” he said, stressing that all the proceedings that the Senate will have until it adjourns on June 13 could be laid to waste if the High Court rules that it cannot continue hearing the impeachment case.
Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, another member of the administration slate, said the first bill he plans to file once he returns to the Senate is a measure that would help expose the ill-gotten wealth of government officials and employees – including the President and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) – by excluding them from the coverage of the Bank Secrecy Law.
“The first bill I will file, and I have done this in past Congresses, will be on the waiver for the rights to the Bank Secrecy Act of all government officials, from the lowest clerk or janitor, all the way up to the President,” he said.
Lacson has said the bill, if enacted, will also allow early detection of questionable bank transactions like in the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, wherein billions of pesos were reportedly transferred to her accounts from 2018 to 2024.
The last version of Lacson’s bill was Senate Bill 26, which Lacson filed in 2019 (18th Congress). It strips public servants of the “protection” from the Bank Secrecy Act which prohibits disclosure or inquiry into bank deposits as a general rule.
Lacson said the Bank Secrecy Act’s provision prohibiting the disclosure of or inquiry to bank deposits “has frequently been exploited to hamper and stall investigations of government officials and employees suspected of enriching themselves while in public office.” – With Raymond Africa
