House panel recommends raps vs Sara, aides over confidential funds

MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability has recommended the filing of criminal, civil and administrative cases against Vice President Sara Duterte and other accountable officers.

At the plenary on Tuesday, June 10, Committee Chair Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District) presented the panel's committee report and recommendations after conducting eight hearings in its investigation into the Office of the Vice President's and Department of Education's utilization of confidential funds from 2022 to 2023. 

The committee proposed a range of charges to be filed, including:

• Technical malversation against Duterte, OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda for allegedly using the agencies' confidential funds for purposes other than mandated by law.  
• Falsification related to questionable acknowledgment receipts, which had seemingly fictitious names, multiple errors and similarities in penmanship and signatures of different alleged recipients.
• Perjury against Duterte and Acosta for the notarized certification that the confidential funds were used for necessary and legal purposes.
• Bribery against Duterte and her former head executive assistant, Sunshine Fajarda, for allegedly offering and distributing cash envelopes to DepEd employees

Additional charges recommended include corruption against DepEd employees involved in the alleged illegal disbursement and improper liquidation of the P112.5 million confidential funds allocated to the agency. 

Meanwhile, plunder cases were also recommended against the following officials for allegedly amassing at least P50 million in public funds from the total P612.5 million used by the OVP and DepEd:

• Vice President Sara Duterte
• Edward and Sunshine Fajarda
• Major General Nolasco Mempin
• Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Nolasco
• Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica
• Former DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla
• OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez
• OVP Bids and Awards Committee Chair Lemuel Ortonio 

Aside from the filing of cases, the committee suggested amending Joint Circular 2015-01, which outlines how confidential and intelligence funds should be used, handled, reported and audited. 

It stressed that stricter rules and requirements should be made on the submission of confidential documents and the evidence of payments, such as the acknowledgment receipts.

The committee also recommended amending the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law "to ensure that information as to the bank accounts of government funds would be accessible to Congress given certain safeguards and guidelines."  

Duterte has already been impeached by 215 House members over the same allegations. The verified complaint, which contains seven articles explaining why she should be impeached and convicted, is currently being tackled formally by the Senate as an impeachment court.