VP secret funds could be disallowed due to disbursement transfer – COA auditor

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MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s P612.5 million in confidential funds for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 could be disallowed, Commission on Audit Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) auditor Xylene del Campo said on Wednesday.

Del Campo made the statement on the fifteenth day of Duterte’s impeachment trial when Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian asked about the notice of disallowance to OVP’s confidential funds (CFs) in 2023 partly due to the disbursements being assigned to an unauthorized individual.

Del Campo previously testified that the OVP’s CFs amounting to P375 million was disallowed after the OVP’s special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, supposedly on Duterte’s orders, transferred the handling of the CFs to then-Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) head Col. Raymund Lachica.

Referencing this case, Gatchalian inquired on the CFs for DepEd wherein SDO Edward Fajarda let Duterte’s security aide, Col. Dennis Nolasco, handle the funds worth P37.5 million per quarter, following the directive of the vice president when she was the education secretary.