MANILA, Philippines – In the waning seconds of a near two-day-long direct examination of a state auditor in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, veteran lawyer and private counsel for the prosecution Lorna Kapunan on Tuesday, August 4, managed to squeeze in one more zinger: that the impeached Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds was a “scam.”
Kapunan, one of several private counsels for the prosecution, had been asking state auditor Roderick Wamil about the conclusions of his audit on the confidential funds of both the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under Duterte.
Citing a 2015 joint circular that covers the auditing of confidential funds, Kapunan asked if the apparent failure of Duterte, as chief of the two agencies, to properly liquidate a bulk of confidential funds allocated to her was “prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or property to personal use and benefit.”
“[There is a] presumption that the fund was converted into personal use or benefit,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino. Michael Poa, Duterte’s counsel, immediately objected, since the the Commission on Audit’s (COA) final say, at least on the 2023 funds, was still pending.
