MANILA – Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and members of the civil society group The Silent Majority on Wednesday lodged criminal complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio before the Office of the Ombudsman.
They accused her of plunder, malversation and graft in connection with the alleged misuse of confidential and public funds amounting to billions of pesos.
The complaint covers Duterte-Carpio’s actions during her terms as Davao City vice mayor and mayor, as well as her later roles as vice president and secretary of education.
Among the allegations cited were the supposed plunder and malversation of at least P650 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd); the alleged misuse of P2.7 billion in Davao City confidential funds during her mayoralty; and claims of graft and malversation involving P8 billion worth of allegedly overpriced laptops procured during her stint as Department of Education (DepEd) chief.
The complaint also flagged Notices of Disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit covering P12 billion in DepEd funds, P7 billion in allegedly unliquidated cash advances, and the construction of only 192 classrooms out of a target of 6,000.
Other accusations include alleged accumulation of ill-gotten wealth and non-disclosure of more than P2 billion in deposits and assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), as well as claims of bribery and corruption linked to alleged payments from a drug lord during her time as Davao City mayor.
The filing further questioned Duterte-Carpio’s fitness to hold public office, citing what it described as a betrayal of public trust stemming from two public incidents in which she allegedly threatened President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The principle of holding the highest officers of the land, including the President and the Vice President, to the highest possible standards is of imperative necessity. It is obvious that Respondent’s actions, and those of her family members, if shown to be true, are clearly incompatible with allowing her to continue holding the Office of the Vice President of the Republic,” the complaint stated.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the complaint, Trillanes said, “This is about accountability.”
The filing also accused the Vice President of repeatedly refusing to explain how her office spent public money, particularly confidential funds, during budget hearings in the House of Representatives.
“Instead of taking the opportunity to explain how she handled the confidential funds entrusted to her Office, Respondent practically stonewalled all the relevant questions Members of the House of Representatives asked on how her Office spent the hundreds of millions of public funds entrusted to her Office. Worse, when some Members of the House of Representatives attempted to get the Respondent to answer questions relevant to the OVP’s budget and how it spent the hundreds of millions of public funds entrusted to her Office, Respondent resorted to reading template evasive responses, making snide remarks and resorting to ad hominem personal attacks, off-tangent jokes and generally displayed a provocative, combative and condescending demeanor towards the Members of the House of Representatives,” the complaint read.
It added: “The arrogant, pompous and over-bearing demeanor displayed by the Respondent and her deliberate and calculated outright refusal to answer simple questions on how her Office spent public funds clearly runs counter to the system of checks and balances written into our fundamental law, with the Congress being entrusted the power to enact laws and appropriate public funds and exercise oversight functions, the Executive being given the power to execute and implement our laws, and the Judiciary being granted the power to interpret our laws and settle justiciable controversies.”
Trillanes said Duterte-Carpio’s popularity made the filing of the complaints all the more necessary.
“Ang primary reason kung bakit popular pa rin siya ay dahil hindi kilalang lubusan ng mga Pilipino ‘yung tunay na pagkatao ni Sara Duterte. Dahil talagang binabaha nila ng fake news at mga trolls nila ‘yung social media na naging pangunahing source ng information ng mga kababayan natin,” he said.
“At ito nga, isang paraan ito na para ma-expose ‘yung iba’t-ibang insidente ng pangungurakot at iba pang anomalya na ginawa ni [Vice President] Sara at hopefully mamulat sila. At kahit relatively more popular siya, but compared noong unang [mga taon niya bilang Bise Presidente] na walang mga ganitong lumabas na anomalya, bumaba na rin ang kanyang mga numero,” he added.
As of posting time, the Office of the Vice President had yet to issue a statement on the complaint./PN
