Litany of crimes raised in House confidential funds probe; plunder one of them


At a glance

  • Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitricks” Luistro, and Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel have raised a list of possible crimes committed by officers of Vice President Sara Duterte.


20241209_192401.jpgFrom left to right: Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitricks” Luistro, and Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel (PPAB)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plunder, malversation, falsification, bribery. 

These were some of the potential crimes committed by officials under Vice President Sara Duterte, according to the congressmen who took part in the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability's investigation in aid of legislation on the alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds. 

The funds--broken down as P500 million from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million from the Department of Education (DepEd)--remain unaccounted for.

Enumerating and discussing these offenses during the good government panel hearing Monday, Dec. 9 were Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Jil Bongalon, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitricks” Luistro, and Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel.

Acop cited the sheer scale of the confidential funds involved and their questionable disbursement.

“Let me remind the public of what is at stake here: it would constitute graft and corruption if public funds are misused or misappropriated or worse, if funds are diverted to personal use or benefit. And given the amount we are talking about here, this is clearly plunder,” Acop declared in his opening statement.

He described the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds as a blatant disregard for the law. 

The committee’s inquiry revealed that confidential funds allocated to the OVP and DepEd were disbursed in a manner that directly violated Commission on Audit-Department of Budget and Management Joint Circular No. 2015-01. 

This circular mandates stringent documentation and clear accountability for confidential and intelligence funds. However, the inquiry exposed a system that bypassed these safeguards entirely.

Acop noted that confidential funds were withdrawn in massive amounts and encashed quarterly by Special Disbursing Officers (SDOs), who then handed them over to “security officers".

At the OVP, SDO Gina Acosta encashed P125 million per quarter between late 2022 and 2023, while at DepEd, SDO Edward Fajarda encashed P37.5 million per quarter. 

According to Bongalon, the law presumes malversation if an accountable officer cannot explain where the public funds under their care went. “Kapag hinanap sayo kung nasaan ‘yung funds or nasaan napunta at wala kang masagot, the law presumes na binulsa mo," he said.

(If you get asked where the funds were or how they were used and you couldn't provide answer, the law presumes that you pocketed it.)

The investigation of the Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua-led panel revealed that Acosta of the Fajarda handled millions in confidential funds without clear documentation. 

Luistro said that while the hearings of the panel were undertaken in aid of legislation, the lawmakers cannot turn a blind eye on the violations of law committed.

“I just want to reiterate that…our ultimate objective here in conducting this inquiry in aid of legislation is to be able to enhance existing laws, come up with new ones, if the needs are determined. Nevertheless, we cannot brush aside certainly all the abuses and infractions that we have identified during the course of our inquiry in aid of legislation," she said.

“In addition to the offenses raised already by our esteemed colleagues, I wish to add perjury,” said Luistro, a lawyer.

The Batangueño said perjury can be committed either orally or in writing. One prime example of committing the crime orally is misrepresentations during inquiries in aid of legislation, she said.

Luistro noted that resource persons in the hearings of the so-called House Blue Ribbon panel were placed under oath.

“And ang lahat ng pagsisinungaling (All of the lies made) while under oath, we call it perjury,” she said.

Luistro also raised the issue of bribery, explaining its elements and pointing out that the public officials involved could be liable for accepting bribes in exchange for illegal acts. 

“Malamang, lahat ng mga tao na naimbestigahan natin ay (It's probable that everybody that we investigated were) public officials who received amounts of not just any money, but possibly of confidential funds, as well,” she said. 

She added that those who offered bribes could also be held accountable for corruption of public officers under Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code.

Luistro also said the officers involved can be charged with the crime of plunder if they continue to fail to explain where some P612.5 million in confidential funds went.

Pimentel, in his own manifestation before the panel, delved into the falsification of public documents, outlining its elements and penalties. 

“Ang falsification po ay when public officers, tulad po ng ating mga resource persons na naimbita noong nakaraang mga hearing, take advantage of their positions and falsified documents,” he stated. 

He cited the cases of Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin as examples, saying, “Clearly, Mr. Chair, this is falsification.” 

As per the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Piattos and Villamin--two signatories of acknowledgment receipts for confidential funds under the OVP and DepEd--were likely to be fictitious.