The Commission on Audit (COA) has denied the petition filed by VP Sara Duterte.
After the Commission on Audit (COA) denied the petition, VP Sara Duterte and other officials are obligated to return this amount of money.
The Commission on Audit (COA) ruled on April 14 that PHP 73.28 million of the OVP’s P125 million confidential funds in 2022 was not allowed. This is according to Gloria Camora of COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office.
To recall, a committee questioned the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) to justify their use of PHP 612.5 million in confidential funds. There were controversial recipients, such as Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin, both of whom have no records in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Recently, the COA denied the petition of VP Sara Duterte for a review of the notice of disallowance involving more than PHP 73 million in confidential funds. With this denial, the vice president and other officials involved are now obligated to return the disallowed amount, as previously ordered by state auditors.
“So it’s clear that the consequence of the denial of the appeal and the issuance of the corresponding notices of disallowance is the obligation to restitute—in Filipino, ibalik ang pera. That is P73 million for the 2022 fourth quarter and P375 million for the three quarters of 2023,” House Committee on Justice Chairperson Gerville Luistro said.
Typically, confidential funds are meant for activities that cannot be publicly revealed, like surveillance or intelligence work. However, their use is now being closely questioned by the public and lawmakers, especially when given to civilian offices like the OVP.
The committee will wait for COA’s submission of the official copy of the decision denying the appeal. Meanwhile, Camora said the OVP may still elevate the matter to the Supreme Court to challenge the order requiring the return of the funds.
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