A HOUSE of Representatives committee should expand its investigation into Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s alleged fund misuse to include P12.3 billion of unsettled Education department funds in 2023, a congressman said on Tuesday.
The Commission on Audit (CoA) flagged P12.3 billion worth of disallowances and suspensions, as of December 2023, which the Department of Education (DepEd) has failed to settle. Ms. Duterte sat as DepEd secretary from July 2022 until July 2024.
The House public accountability committee last year held hearings into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds under Ms. Duterte’s office in 2022 and DepEd in 2023.
“First, it was P125 million in confidential funds spent in just 11 days at the Office of the Vice-President. Now, CoA has flagged over P12 billion in unresolved transactions at DepEd under Ms. Duterte’s leadership,” Zambales Rep. Jefferson F. Khonghun, a vice-chairman of the House public accountability panel, said in a statement.
“This CoA report is damning. It exposes large-scale financial mismanagement in an agency with the largest budget in government. Ms. Duterte must explain these findings,” he added.
The Office of the Vice President did not immediately respond to an e-mail and Viber message seeking comment. BusinessWorld also reached out to the DepEd via e-mail and Viber message but has not yet received a response.
The call to include the P12.3 billion into the House public accountability panel’s investigation comes after the chamber impeached Ms. Duterte, making her the first Philippine vice-president to face the threat of removal from public office.
More than 200 congressmen last week filed and signed an impeachment complaint against Ms. Duterte, more than the one-third vote required by the Constitution for her to be impeached, paving the way for her trial by the Senate. Several lawmakers will act as prosecutors.
The House sent the bill of the ouster charges to the Senate on the last day of the congressional session, consisting of seven articles of impeachment, including allegations of plotting the assassination of the President, misusing secret funds, amassing unexplained wealth and committing acts of destabilization.
Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua on Monday said the House public accountability committee could continue its investigation into Ms. Duterte’s alleged secret fund misuse while it awaits the Senate to convene as an impeachment court. Senate President Francis G. Escudero earlier said they will likely start impeachment proceedings after the President’s State of the Nation Address.
“It’s possible, we are not barred from conducting committee hearings,” said Mr. Chua, a prosecutor-congressman.
Mr. Khonghun said the P12.3-billion flagged sum is “fresh evidence” to the allegations hurled against the embattled vice-president and could further strengthen the case for her removal from office. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
