VP SARA ON TRIAL: Army officers say DepEd sent no funds for summits

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Two Army officers whose certifications the Department of Education submitted to the Commission on Audit told the impeachment court that their units received no money from the department, and that they did not know the documents would later be used to liquidate confidential fund spending.

Their testimony came on Day 20 of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which continued to tackle Article I of the impeachment complaint accusing her of misusing PHP 612.5 million in confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and at DepEd, which she headed as education secretary.

The impeachment court declared a quorum with 15 senators present at roll call on September 1.

No funds reached the Tabak Division

Col. Manaros Boransing II, assistant chief of staff for civil and military operations of the Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division and commander of Task Force Zamboanga, took the stand as the prosecution’s witness. He supervised the military’s Youth Leadership Summit and Information Education Campaign from January to December 2023.

Boransing testified that no funds from DepEd, the Office of the Vice President, or the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group were released to the 1st Infantry Division for the two activities that year.

He confirmed he issued a certificate of attendance for summit participants on January 1, 2024, after DepEd requested it. Private prosecutor Reynaldo Robles drew from him an affirmation that the certificate was meant only to document the stakeholders who attended, and nothing more.

DepEd later submitted that certificate to the Commission on Audit as proof of a successful information gathering or surveillance activity tied to PHP 15.54 million in confidential funds the department claimed as rewards payments.

Defense counsel Lindon Bacquel objected when Robles pressed Boransing on when he learned his certificate had been used that way, arguing the question had no basis. Robles countered that the matter was already part of the record.

Boransing said funding for summit participants came from multiple sources, with local governments covering costs for the youths, while lecturers and participants from other government agencies shouldered their own expenses. The Army ran eight summit activities in 2023.

The program has run since 2002 with the Philippine Army as lead agency and was designed to counter the recruitment of youths by violent extremist groups in areas with communist insurgent activity.

Presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero asked whether DepEd’s inputs for the summits were confidential in nature. Boransing replied: “I cannot comment on if it’s a product of a confidential activities, sir, but what they provided us were more of information on the schools schedules of specific schedules of the school year where the students may be allowed to join the youth leadership summit, and of course, permission to talk with the students.”

Boransing conceded it was “very possible” DepEd spent on its own people for the summits. He also acknowledged that while the summit falls under the Army’s regular budget, it forms part of a broader campaign combining civil-military operations, combat operations, and intelligence work that are “interlinked and mutually supporting.”

Escudero later quoted the certificate back to the witness, noting it stated the Army “successfully collaborated with the Department of Education,” resulting in “zero reported CTG recruitment.”

“It was a success. YLS IEC was a success,” Boransing said.

He said the 2023 summits reached elementary and high school students, citing cases of underage fighters recruited by armed groups, particularly among indigenous communities. No college students took part.

Escudero then had both sides confirm a joint exhibit showing the Commission on Audit issued an August 8 credit notice covering PHP 75 million in DepEd funds, an amount that includes the PHP 15.54 million tied to Boransing’s certificate. Robles and Bacquel both confirmed this meant the commission had accepted DepEd’s liquidation.

Robles qualified the point, noting an earlier audit witness testified she found a problem with the liquidation once she learned the funds had passed through special disbursing officers at DepEd and the Office of the Vice President, and that the matter is under review for possible referral to the commission’s fraud audit unit. The commission has three years by law to reverse its findings and has not done so.

Senators question the certificate’s reach

The defense waived its cross-examination, and senators took over the questioning.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo re-established that the Army funded the 2023 activities through its regular civil-military operations budget, with DepEd contributing only in kind through school venues and subject matter experts. Boransing named then-DepEd Undersecretary Nolasco Mempin as the official who requested the certification, and said he cleared it with his then-commander, retired Maj. Gen. Viray, who gave no reason for the request.

He said it was only during the October 17, 2024 House hearing that he learned DepEd had sought nearly identical certifications from the 5th, 7th, and 9th Infantry Divisions.

Under questioning by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Boransing confirmed the certification made no mention of any amount DepEd spent. “No mention of any funds in the certification,” he said. He also said he has no personal knowledge of how DepEd spent its confidential and intelligence funds.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian asked directly whether DepEd ever gave the division confidential or surveillance information. “No, sir,” Boransing said, adding that what the department provided was open source information on which students showed leadership potential and which schools made good venues.

“Kung wala silang binibigay na confidential information, anong information binibigay para magawa ang activity?” Gatchalian asked.

“They’re a very crucial part in the youth leadership summit. Although not all the target audience are in school, some or more than half are out of school youth… They are the ones who know the students. They spend more time with the students than even us, their parents. They play a very big role in telling us who among them have the potential for leadership in their community,” Boransing answered.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo asked lead prosecutor Rep. Jinky Luistro whether the PHP 15.54 million in rewards was paid to DepEd’s informants in cash or in medicine. Luistro said there was no indication. Asked whether those informants could have been his own personnel, Boransing said: “I would not have any knowledge about that, sir.”

Sen. Joel Villanueva pointed out that a certificate stating an activity was successfully conducted does not, by itself, prove any link between an informant, the information supplied, and a reward paid for it. Boransing said he could not weigh in because he is not an intelligence officer. “I just issued the certification, sir,” he said.

Sen. Ping Lacson established that Boransing, in his civil-military role, would have no way of knowing whether DepEd or any other civilian agency released confidential funds to the division, since such funds would pass through the intelligence office or the commanding general. Boransing said the division checked its records and found no agency-to-agency fund transfers.

“So as far as I’m concerned, I don’t think you’re a competent witness here aside or save for the certification that you issued,” Lacson said.

Boransing confirmed he personally wrote the certification, including the statement on zero communist terrorist group recruitment, which he called a simple statement of fact.

Asked whether the Vice President attended the division’s 2023 summit, he said: “Wala po. Hindi po nag-attend ‘yung si vice president.” He added that as commander of Task Force Zamboanga since May, he is aware of one visit by Duterte to the city, and that his unit received no request to provide her security.

The arithmetic problem

Sen. Bam Aquino asked Boransing to break down actual Army spending. Costs varied by activity, the witness said, citing one event in Lanao del Sur budgeted at PHP 60,000, with others running around PHP 30,000 each. He agreed the total for all eight 2023 summits would not exceed PHP 500,000.

Local government units covered the bulk of participant costs, including meals, T-shirts, and team-building activities, Boransing said. Attendance ranged from about 30 to more than 100 youths per leg, depending on whether the event was municipal, provincial, or regional.

Aquino computed that at a generous estimate of roughly PHP 300 per participant for food and transportation, plus Army spending, a single summit would run between PHP 100,000 and PHP 200,000.

“Hindi kayo nagtaka na 15 million ‘yung ginastos para sa information for events that don’t cost more than maybe 200,000 150 to 200,000 per event?” Aquino asked.

Boransing said he did not learn of the PHP 15.54 million figure until the October 2024 House hearing and declined to react, citing his active-duty status. “I as an active member of the Armed Forces, I do not think I should react … The impeachment is still ongoing,” he said, adding that the audit decision is not yet final and that it would be inappropriate for a serving officer to weigh in on what he called “a political issue.”

Prosecution pressed on its fraud theory

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano turned his questioning to the prosecution to pin down its theory, asking whether it is automatically fraud whenever a special disbursing officer is not the one personally releasing confidential funds.

Robles said the 2015 joint circular governing confidential funds requires the officer to personally disburse the money and bars transferring it to anyone else, recognizing only three accountable officers: the special disbursing officer, the accountant, and the head of agency. Passing funds outside that group is illegal, he said.

Presented with a hypothetical about a colonel handing funds to a field operative, Robles said the circular prohibits exactly that, because the fund is advanced from officer to officer with no way to trace it.

Cayetano explained he was pressing the point because an impeachment conviction carries no jail time but removes an elected official from office and permanently bars her from running again, so senator-judges need to know whether an accounting failure is a mere irregularity or fraud.

Robles said the prosecution’s theory rests on a prima facie presumption of misappropriation once funds go unaccounted for, meaning misappropriation is presumed unless rebutted.

Escudero interjected as Cayetano pushed Robles to distinguish “irregular” from “illegal” and “unlawful,” cautioning that the counsel was veering into testifying to facts no witness had put on record. He allowed the answer anyway.

Robles reiterated that the audit commission had issued a notice of disallowance covering three-quarters of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds after learning the money passed from special disbursing officer Gina Acosta to Col. Raymund Lachica. Escudero clarified that the burden of proof never shifts from the prosecution, and that only the burden of evidence can shift.

Second officer says teachers were the source

The prosecution then sought to speed up the trial by asking the defense to stipulate that three more officers would essentially repeat Boransing’s testimony if called: Lt. Col. Magtangol Panopio, Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao, and Lt. Col. Carlos Sangdaan Jr.

The defense refused, agreeing to stipulate only that the officers issued the certifications, and that no confidential funds were transferred from DepEd to the Armed Forces or the Army for the two activities. The defense specifically asked to replace the prosecution’s original word, “downloaded,” arguing it is prone to misinterpretation.

Col. Magtangol Panopio then took the stand as the prosecution’s second witness. He issued a certification dated December 5, 2023 that DepEd used for liquidation in 2024.

Direct examination established that Panopio issued the certification without knowing it would help liquidate PHP 15.54 million in confidential fund rewards payments, and that he had no knowledge of his unit receiving confidential information from DepEd.

Like Boransing, he said he first learned his certificate had been used for liquidation only at the 2024 House hearing. Asked for his reaction, he said: “Medyo nagulat po kami kasi yung pong aming certification is only for the certification that we conducted the youth leadership summit. Hindi po namin na isina-certify anything about money or funds.”

Panopio said the certification was issued on his commander’s order, in coordination with Mempin. The defense again waived cross-examination.

Lacson held Panopio’s and Sangdaan’s certifications side by side and noted their second paragraphs are nearly word-for-word, both describing collaboration with DepEd “to insulate the students from exploitation… and inform them of the ills of terrorism and communism.”

Asked whether the two officers had coordinated, Panopio said no, explaining the wording follows a standard format in the Army’s summit handbook and that their units are adjacent, in Regions 2 and 3. Lacson pointed out that Boransing’s certification was entirely different in wording.

Gatchalian zeroed in on Panopio’s certification, which claimed DepEd information helped identify summit locations and enabled “civil military combat and intelligence operations.” Pushed to specify whether that information was confidential or merely open source, Panopio said he assumed it came from teachers on the ground and could not definitively call it confidential.

“Saan galing sa DepEd? Ang DepEd napakalaking organisasyon… Saan siya galing?” Gatchalian asked.

“During collaborations on the ground, different teaching forces in different schools, doon kami nag-cocoordinate. Ang teachers on the ground ang mentioned in that certificate,” Panopio said.

Asked what kind of information teachers passed on, Panopio said it covered matters happening in the community related to communism, terrorism, drug abuse, and family matters. He said he could not identify whether it was confidential or open, as that would depend on the source.

Pressed on what confidential information DepEd could supply, he said: “Siguro po ‘yung mga… I can speculate only… Maybe the personal circumstances like teenage pregnancies or other personal information na maging confidential because it is their personal life.”

“So it’s about the personal life of the students. Paano niyo ginagamit itong mga confidential information na galing sa DepEd in your selection of schools for the for the two activities?” Gatchalian asked.

“Pinaplano po namin yan kung saan po may mataas na mga pangangailangan ‘yung community. And of course, this all in collaboration with the LGUs,” Panopio answered.

Before the witnesses were presented, Escudero clarified that last week’s witness, Office of the Vice President assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio, was not wearing an earpiece during the proceedings. After verification, the court found the photo circulating on the matter was AI-generated.

Court adjourned and will resume at 10 a.m. the following day, with lawyer Michael Poa, former DepEd spokesperson and chief of staff, and statistician Marizza Grande of the Philippine Statistics Authority next on the witness stand.