THE House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte presented on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, alleged irregularities in the disbursement of confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as education secretary.
Commission on Audit (COA) Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) auditor Xylene del Campo said DepEd submitted several acknowledgment receipts (ARs) in the first and second quarters of 2023 as supporting documents for the disbursement of its confidential funds.
Del Campo was asked to identify 21 ARs dated February 25, 2023, and 19 ARs dated March 15, 2023.
She said that despite having the same dates, the ARs indicated various locations across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Del Campo said the location indicated in the ARs was where the money was disbursed.
She noted that the agency’s special disbursing officer (SDO) was the only person authorized to disburse the funds. In DepEd’s case in 2023, the SDO was Edward Fajarda.
House prosecution panel counsel Lorna Kapunan tried to ask the witness whether the different locations indicated in the ARs meant that the SDO had traveled to various areas in a single day. However, defense counsel objected, and the objection was sustained by presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
“Let the document speak for itself that if indeed the SDO is the only officer authorized to disburse the funds, then clearly it is physically impossible to be in all of these locations in one day,” Escudero said.
In 2023, DepEd was appropriated P150 million in confidential funds.
However, only P112.5 million was actually released and utilized, equivalent to 75 percent of the appropriation. DepEd did not request the remaining P37.5 million for the fourth quarter. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)