MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and two officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) have been held personally liable for P73.287 million in disallowed confidential fund expenditures after the Commission on Audit (COA) rejected their appeal, citing insufficient documentation, irregular disbursements and gross negligence in the handling of public funds.
In a resolution dated October 5, COA upheld its earlier disallowance of expenses incurred from December 21 to 31, 2022, just days after the OVP received P125 million in confidential funds on December 20 of that year.
The ruling sustained an August 2024 notice of disallowance issued by COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, covering P69.787 million in purported informer rewards and P3.5 million spent on furniture and information technology equipment.
COA found that the OVP failed to establish that the multimillion-peso payments to alleged informers resulted in successful intelligence-gathering or surveillance operations, as required under government auditing rules.
Instead of submitting evidence of operational accomplishments, the OVP provided a list of activities attended by Duterte-Carpio and personnel from its satellite offices between December 13 and 31, 2022.
“The list did not indicate or narrate particular accomplishments that resulted from the information gathered and/or surveillance activities, and that were directly related to the specific confidential activities undertaken,” the resolution read.
The commission also rejected the OVP’s justification that the absence of security incidents during the period demonstrated the effectiveness of its confidential operations.
“This argument does not hold water. The JC (Joint Circular) is explicit that the payment of reward to informers requires supporting documents evidencing the success of the information gathering and/or surveillance activities on account of the information given by the informers,” it read.
Further raising questions over the expenditures, COA found that members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSG) were involved in the questioned reward payments.
The commission stressed that VPSG personnel, being salaried members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, were “fundamentally disqualified” from receiving informer rewards under existing regulations.
It said the acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP failed to establish that qualified informers outside government service had provided intelligence leading to successful operations.
Consequently, COA sustained the disallowance of the P69.787 million in purported rewards.
The commission likewise rejected the OVP’s explanation for spending P3.5 million on tables, chairs, desktop computers and printers allegedly intended for safehouses used in surveillance operations.
Auditors said the OVP failed to demonstrate how purchasing ordinary furniture and standard computer equipment through regular government procurement procedures would have compromised confidential activities.
COA emphasized that acknowledgment receipts alone could not sufficiently account for the acquisition of assets using taxpayers’ money.
Duterte-Carpio, OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta and Chief Accountant Julieta Villadelrey had sought reconsideration of the disallowance, arguing that the audit notice was defective and that the government had suffered no proven financial loss.
They also maintained that COA imposed documentary requirements beyond those prescribed for confidential and intelligence funds and insisted that their good faith should protect them from personal liability.
However, the commission rejected their arguments, ruling that the expenditures were irregular for failing to comply with prescribed standards and illegal for violating the requirements of the 2022 General Appropriations Act governing confidential fund disbursements.
COA held Duterte-Carpio personally liable for approving the questioned transactions and cash advance, Acosta for receiving and disbursing the funds, and Villadelrey for certifying the completeness and propriety of the supporting documents.
The commission said their failure to comply with audit requirements despite repeated instructions constituted gross negligence and bad faith.
It further ruled that officials who approved, authorized or certified the transactions, along with individuals who actually received the disallowed funds, could be required to refund the money under the Administrative Code.
The ruling reinforces COA’s position that confidential expenditures, despite their sensitive nature, remain subject to strict accountability and documentation requirements.
Meanwhile, the OVP said it had not yet received an official copy of the October 5 resolution but was prepared to pursue available legal remedies.
“The office has already anticipated the possibility of this decision and has prepared to respond through the appropriate legal and institutional channels,” the OVP said.
It maintained that the audit ruling would not prevent the office from continuing its public service programs.
“Nevertheless, the OVP remains committed to fulfilling its mandate—to develop and promote programs that uplift the lives of the Filipino people.”
COA, however, reiterated that the confidential nature of government expenditures does not exempt public officials from demonstrating that taxpayers’ money was spent lawfully and for legitimate purposes.
“Disbursement of large public funds deserves no less; taxpayers’ money should always be spent with paramount consideration of full transparency and reasonable budget allocation,” it said./PN
