By Artchil B. Fernandez

The exciting part of Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is here. The name Mary Grace Piattos has long intrigued Filipinos. Who is she? Is she real? These questions will finally be answered as the impeachment court has started tackling the first article of the impeachment complaint against the vice president.

Article I of the impeachment complaint accuses Sara Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust related to her alleged misuse of confidential funds as head of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), worth a combined PHP 612.5 million. Included in the charges is the controversial PHP 125 million, which was spent in a record 11 days.

Testifying before the impeachment court are officials of the Commission on Audit (COA) who audited the confidential funds of Sara Duterte as head of the Office of the Vice President and secretary of education. The first article of impeachment stands on the disallowances issued by COA on the confidential funds handled by Sara Duterte.

In 2022, PHP 73 million of the OVP confidential fund was disallowed. During the first three quarters of 2023, PHP 375 million was also disallowed by COA. If these disallowances become final and executory, Sara Duterte and three other officials must return a total of PHP 448 million to the National Treasury. In addition, the DepEd confidential fund involving PHP 112.5 million is also under COA scrutiny. On the whole, Article I involves the alleged misuse of PHP 612.5 million in confidential funds in the OVP (PHP 500 million) and DepEd (PHP 112.5 million).

Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Roderick Wamil — a certified public accountant and lawyer — who served under the COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) from 2014 to 2024, took the witness stand this week.

The use of confidential funds by the OVP covered by the audit is highly irregular, according to COA. The transactions are supported only by acknowledgment receipts and not by official receipts or sales invoices required under Joint Circular No. 2015-01 governing the use of confidential and intelligence funds. Wamil testified that the OVP failed to identify the specific confidential activities for which the funds had supposedly been spent. “It was noted that the Office of the Vice President did not enumerate its specific confidential activities,” Wamil told the impeachment court.

Acknowledgment receipts appear to be dubious and questionable. Several individuals received payments ranging from PHP 50,000 to PHP 295,000. The names of these persons raised eyebrows, leading to suspicion that they are fictitious and manufactured. Aside from the infamous Mary Grace Piattos, consider these names: Miggy Mango, Chippy Mcdonald, Mekuto Fukiko, Gina Hasa, Malou Wang, Ma. Katy A. Koh, Tommo Wadsia, Cindy Cath Oh, Tinnee Gasun, Andy C. Lim, Alejandro A. Pikit, and Patty Ting.

One irregular finding by the COA is the 111 disbursements totaling PHP 17 million in confidential funds in a single day (Dec. 23, 2022) by the OVP. Wamil considered this one-day transaction unusual. COA also reported that the OVP refused to receive an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) from the Commission on Audit. The OVP is the first government agency ever to make such a refusal.

Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan denounced these acts by Sara Duterte’s Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) as scamming the public. “You’re scamming the public. This scam is worth PHP 612.5 million…. I just wanted to say that out loud so we all understand what’s happening.”

Leaping into Sara Duterte’s defense are several DDS senator-judges. They are no longer neutral senator-judges but defense counsel trying to cover up Sara Duterte’s confidential scam. Their bias and partiality are on full shameless display.

Imee Marcos tried to shield Sara Duterte by pinning the blame on her subordinates. She berated Wamil for saying the head of office is accountable while claiming that the special disbursing officers of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education are accountable for the funds. “That is not entirely correct, Your Honor, because under the Joint Circular, it shall be the responsibility of the head of the agency, first, to approve the cash advance; second, to oversee the agency-wide utilization,” Wamil told her.

Ignored by Imee Marcos is Sec. 102 of PD 1445, which clearly states: “The head of any government agency holds immediate and primary responsibility for all government funds and property relating to their specific agency.” Her father, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., issued PD 1445.

Robin Padilla attempted to justify Sara Duterte’s highly irregular and unusual use of confidential funds. Padilla asserted, without an iota of evidence, that Sara Duterte foiled several attacks by communist rebels through her confidential funds. He also attacked Wamil’s credibility based on his lack of exposure to terrorism, a non sequitur.

In the end, Wamil stood his ground, coolly fending off assaults by DDS senator-judges. He firmly declared that “there is prima facie evidence na nagamit sya (confidential funds) for personal use or benefit under the Joint Circular.” Wamil was echoing the Supreme Court decision in Martinez vs. People (G.R. No. 126413, Aug. 20, 1999), which says that failure to liquidate government funds constitutes a prima facie presumption for malversation “under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code that he had malversed the funds to his personal use and benefit.”

The confidential scam is crystal clear, but it is also evident that DDS senator-judges are out to clear Sara Duterte notwithstanding the evidence and jurisprudence. The scum behavior of DDS senator-judges is the biggest scam in the impeachment trial.