THE chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is looking at two potential grounds for impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte amid an ongoing probe into her alleged mismanagement of funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua noted that, while the investigation was initially launched “in aid of legislation,” it has since uncovered possible grounds for Duterte’s impeachment, particularly graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust.
Chua responded to Duterte’s accusations that the work of the panel, often referred to the House counterpart of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, is merely a “fishing expedition” targeting the country’s second-highest official.
“Well, in the first place, ginawa naman po ito not for the purpose of impeaching her. Ang purpose naman po rito ay in aid of legislation,” Chua explained.
He added that initial findings—such as the P125 million in confidential funds that the Duterte-led OVP spent within just 11 days in December 2022—were significant enough to raise concerns.
“Na-shock po ang lahat sa P125 million na nagastos in 11 days. At may lumabas nga po na findings ang COA (Commission on Audit) na nag-issue ng Notice of Disallowance (ND),” he said.
Last August, the COA issued an ND for P73.28 million of the P125 million, covering the OVP’s confidential funds for the last quarter of 2022, citing improper use and regulatory violations. The COA directed Duterte and other accountable OVP officials to settle the disallowed amount.
Duterte’s office was also allocated P500 million in confidential funds for 2023 but received only P375 million, or P125 million per quarter. Each quarter’s funds are under Audit Observation Memorandums related to financial and operational deficiencies, which could lead to further NDs if not sufficiently justified.
Amid public criticism of the rapid spending of the P125 million during the last quarter of 2022, the House of Representatives rejected her request for an additional P500 million in confidential funds for 2024.
According to Chua, the Vice President could face impeachment for graft and corruption, citing issues such as the alleged unaccounted P15 million in confidential funds within the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure as Secretary and the OVP’s alleged overpriced rental payments for safe houses.
“Pare-parehas po tayong nagtatanong kung saan napunta ‘yung P15 million. May certification, sine-certify pero inamin naman ng Army na hindi sa kanila napunta, walang dinownload. Ngayon ang tanong—saan napunta? ‘Yung P16 million na rental for safe houses [noong last quarter of 2022], walang detalye. Hindi po natin alam kung totoo nga pong nagamit sa rentals,” Chua pointed out.
Chua was referring to the committee’s findings that the DepEd, under Duterte’s leadership, falsely claimed to have used its confidential funds for a youth training program, when, in reality, the Philippine Army and local government units covered most of the expenses.
Four military officers testified that DepEd’s confidential funds were not involved in funding the Youth Leadership Summits they conducted in 2023. Nevertheless, the Duterte-led DepEd used the certifications issued by these officers to justify P15 million in confidential funds supposedly allocated for informant payments.
In a recent committee hearing, lawmakers were shocked by the OVP’s use of P16 million in confidential funds to rent 34 safe houses for just 11 days in late 2022, with one property costing nearly P91,000 per day.
Records show the OVP made payments ranging from P250,000 to P1 million per property owner between Dec. 21 and 31, 2022. These rentals, detailed in the OVP’s liquidation report to the COA, were part of a rapid P125 million confidential funds expenditure over the 11-day period.
However, Chua said the spending has acknowledgment receipts that were unsigned, illegible, missing names, or only included signatures, and lacked supporting documents like lease contracts, thus raising questions about the transactions.
Chua further suggested that Duterte’s actions could constitute a betrayal of public trust, particularly given the entrusted funds.
“Ito pong ginagawa niya hindi pa ba betrayal of public trust? Pinagkatiwalaan ka ng pondo tapos di ka sumusunod, ‘di ba? Hindi mo ginamit ‘yung pondo para sa ayos,” he remarked.
However, he clarified that the committee’s goal is not to pursue impeachment but to address potential legislative reforms.
“Well, hindi naman ito nag-emanate sa impeachment. Right from the very beginning siya (Duterte) lang naman nagbabanggit. Eh ako naman po ginagawa ko lamang ang trabaho ko dahil ito ay ni-refer sa aking committee,” Chua explained.
While Chua refrained from concluding that impeachment was inevitable, he acknowledged that the current findings may form a basis for such action.
“Kung ganito ang pagbabasehan natin, pwedeng may grounds. But siyempre ayaw po natin mag-conclude pa,” he said, noting that Duterte still has an opportunity to refute the allegations.
