Sara Duterte trial recap, Aug. 4: Safehouses, signatures, censored S word
MANILA, Philippines — It was a remark so harsh that it was swiftly struck from the record: the prosecution calling the Office of the Vice President's use and liquidation of confidential funds nothing short of a “scam.”
That cutting remark by prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan came at the end of her direct examination of former state auditor Roderick Wamil on Tuesday, August 4, and drew an immediately granted motion to strike from defense counsel Michael Poa.
The twelfth day of the trial saw both the prosecution and the defense use their full time on direct, cross, redirect and recross.
The former state auditor testified that the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) reported tens of millions of pesos in confidential fund spending without attaching enough supporting documents to justify the expenses, and that Vice President Sara Duterte's signature can be found as having approved or certified nearly all documents.
Poa, who served as DepEd undersecretary, chief of staff and spokesperson under Duterte, sought to draw from Wamil that the COA has not concluded actual misuse of the secret funds.
1. Speed of spending becomes a non-issue?
Nothing in the rules barred the Office of the Vice President from spending a quarter's worth of confidential funds in 11 days, Wamil testified during Poa's cross-examination.
This concession goes to the finding that first put Duterte's confidential funds under scrutiny in 2024: COA's finding that the OVP spent its P125-million allotment for 2022 between December 21 and 31 of that year.
Poa asked Wamil whether any provision of the joint circular prohibits using a quarterly cash advance within 60 days.
"Wala po (None)," Wamil answered. Asked about 11 days, he replied, "Wala din po (Also none)."
The state auditor, however, clarified that this was precisely why the 11-day expenditure of Duterte's office does not appear in his findings and was mentioned only as a fact in the audit observation memorandum.
Poa also drew out from Wamil that COA took months to act after the OVP submitted its liquidation of its confidential funds.
Wamil confirmed Duterte's office filed its liquidation report in January 2023 and that COA issued its first audit observation memorandum on the OVP on Sept. 14, 2023, about eight months later.
Prior to this, the prosecution also pursued a line of questioning on the alleged irregularity of how the OVP blew through its secret funds in 2022.
During the direct for Wamil, Kapunan established that the OVP's submissions showed P16 million spent renting safe houses over those 11 days, or P2 million a day by her computation.
The prosecution's larger point, drawn from Wamil's testimony across two days, is that whatever the pace, the spending was irregular, as the OVP charged non-confidential expenses — like medical, food and travel assistance — against the secret funds.
"We did not say, ever, that the confidential funds cannot be spent in 11 days," House prosecution spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa said at a press conference in the afternoon. "Ang tanong is: Na-justify ba ng bise presidente paano nila naubos itong P125 million in just 11 days?"
Tolosa said the question is whether the defense was able to show its speedy expenditure complied with the circular.
2. What the OVP and DepEd plans and reports did not say
Neither the OVP nor DepEd showed COA what their confidential funds were specifically for beyond broad categories, Wamil testified.
The joint circular requires a physical and financial plan, naming the confidential activities that spending will be based on.
The OVP's plan did not include this, Wamil testified.
It listed a "good government program" with an expected outcome of "safe implementation of OVP initiatives and confidence building."
DepEd's plans, meanwhile, listed four programs each quarter: counter-insurgency, abuse prevention in schools, anti-illegal activities and anti-extremism. The four totaled exactly P37.5 million every quarter.
Wamil testified that DepEd's accomplishment reports claimed results without supporting documents. For instance, DepEd reported spending P9.375 million in one quarter to prevent recruitment of teachers and students by communist groups, and reported 100 percent implementation. Wamil testified the department submitted no list of the groups, the schools or the areas covered.
Meanwhile, the OVP charged expenses the rules do not allow, Wamil testified.
The OVP's accomplishment reports carried P82 million in medical and food aid over two quarters and P10 million per quarter in travel incentives, with no supporting documents.
"Kasi 'yung listahan po nung allowable confidential expenses under 4.8 ng joint circular ay exclusive," he said. "So kapag hindi po kasama doon, hindi po pwedeng paggamitan ng kanilang confidential fund."
Wamil said both offices also reported "reward payments" — P12 million and P35 million at the OVP across quarters, and smaller amounts across all four DepEd programs — without the documents the circular requires to show the paid-for surveillance succeeded.
Kapunan closed her direct examination of the former state auditor by highlighting a provision in the 2015 joint circular that states if an accountable officer fails to liquidate public funds upon demand, it constitutes "prima face evidence" that the funds were put to "personal use and benefit."
Wamil confirmed this creates a legal presumption of misuse.
"Ang tawag ko lang doon, hindi prima facie evidence. Kung ako ang tatanungin, scam ito," Kapunan said.
Poa made a motion to expunge Kapunan's remarks, which presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero swiftly ordered to be done.
During its turn, the defense answered Kapunan's point by presenting a 1992 COA circular stating that requiring receipts for safe house rentals, meals and supplies risks leaking information and endangering agents.
Objecting to this, Kapunan countered that the 2015 circular superseded it.
Meanwhile, Poa argued there remains no conclusive finding that the funds were misappropriated.
He drew from Wamil that audit findings against the OVP and DepEd remain preliminary, and that both offices responded to the audit observation memoranda.
3. Duterte's signature on every layer
Kapunan returned throughout her direct examination to a single question, asked of nearly every document shown to Wamil: whose signature is this?
Each time, Wamil said the liquidation reports, disbursement vouchers, accomplishment reports and other papers were all either certified or approved by Duterte, and bore her signature as proof.
In a 2024 press conference and at the height of House scrutiny of her use of secret funds, Duterte denied any hand in the preparation of the acknowledgment receipts of her office's confidential expenses.
Senator-judges will get their turn tomorrow to ask questions of Wamil and make their interjections.
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