PART of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022 were used to purchase medicines, supplies, tables and chairs, desktop computers and printers, as well as various goods, former Commission on Audit-Intelligence and Confidential Funds Office (COA-ICFO) auditor Roderick Wamil said on Monday, August 3, 2026.
During the resumption of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the House prosecution panel presented Wamil, whose testimony centered on the P125 million in confidential funds received by the OVP on December 20, 2022.
Based on the accomplishment report submitted by the OVP to the COA-ICFO, the period of utilization of the confidential funds cover December 21 to 31, 2022.
Of the P125 million in confidential funds, P34.857 million was spent for various goods, P24.93 million for medicines, P11.813 million for supplies, P500,000 for tables and chairs, and P3 million for the purchase of desktop computers and printers.
Wamil said these expenses were supported only by acknowledgement receipts instead of official receipts or sales invoice.
Among the acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP were those signed by a certain Mary Grace Piatos worth P295,000 for the purchase of supplies; Renan Piatos for the “purchase of information” worth P110,000; Nova Santos for various goods amounting to P85,000; Mico Harina for the purchase of supplies valued at P295,000; Janice Marie Revilla for the purchase of information worth P70,000; Patty Ting amounting to P150,000 for the purchase of information; Andy Lim for the purchase of information worth P50,000; Alejandro Pikit amounting to P90,000 for the purchase of information; and Feonna Biong for the purchase of information worth P80,000, among others.
The acknowledgement receipts issued and signed by the Piatoses, Harina, Lim and Pikit were dated December 2023, which is outside the period of disbursement.
The COA-ICFO said P3.276 million worth of acknowledgement receipts submitted by the OVP covering the said disbursement period were undated, while P25.606 million were dated December 2023.
Wamil also noted that the liquidation documents submitted by the OVP exceeded P150,000 from its total allocation of P125 million.
Due to discrepancies in the accomplishment report on confidential funds spending and its supporting documentary evidences, the COA-IFCO issued a notice of suspension to notify the OVP about a temporary disallowance in audit of the disbursement, which appears illegal, irregular, and improper and that they are required to submit explanation or justification.
Wamil also noted that the physical and financial plan of the OVP approved in December 2022 was not compliant with a 2015 joint circular for the guidelines on the use and reporting of confidential funds.
He cited Section 4.2 of the 2015-01 joint circular of the COA, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Governance Commission For GOCCs, and Department of National Defense (DND), which states that: all allocations of confidential funds and/or intelligence funds shall be supported with a physical and financial plan indicating the proposed amount allocated for each program, activity, and project where disbursements pertaining to confidential expenses and intelligence expenses shall be based.
“Based on this submitted physical and financial plan, hindi po nakikita rito ang kanilang specific confidential activity na kanilang pagbabasehan sa kanilang disbursement,” Wamil said.
“Dahil since hindi naman inindicate dito ni OVP ‘yung kanilang specific confidential activities, so hindi po na-match based on the information as presented sa document na ito ‘yung laman ng expected outcomes at physical targets doon sa kanilang specific confidential activities,” he added.
Under Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, Duterte is accused of alleged irregularities in the use of P500 million in confidential funds of the OVP, and P112.5 million in confidential funds during her time as the secretary of the Department of Education. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)