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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider OVP's confidential fund should not be compared to Marcos' office

OVP's confidential fund should not be compared to Marcos' office

Published Jun 17, 2025 04:18 pm
Malacañang stressed the questionable spending of the confidential funds of the Office of Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte should not be compared to that of President Marcos' office.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN/Mark Balmores)
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN/Mark Balmores)
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the two confidential funds should not be compared to each other, pointing out that Marcos' office did not spend P125 million in 11 days—which reportedly happened in the OVP in 2022 according to the Commission on Audit.
“[H]indi po dapat natin ihambing ang naging sitwasyon ni bise presidente sa ating Pangulo, unang-una po ay wala naman po yatang ginastos ang ating Pangulo ng 125 million pesos sa loob lamang ng 11 days (We should not compare the situation of the vice president with that of the President. First of all, it seems that our President did not spend P125 million in just 11 days),” Castro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, June 17.
The Palace official stressed that the Office of the President did not have questionable documents in spending its confidential fund.
“Ang tanong natin: Nagkaroon ba ng Notice of Disallowance ang Office of the President patungkol sa confidential funds? Mayroon na ba tayong balita na gumagawa ng mga questionable receipts ang Office of the President patungkol sa confidential funds (Our question is: Has the Office of the President received a Notice of Disallowance regarding the confidential funds? Have we heard any news about the Office of the President issuing questionable receipts concerning confidential funds)?” Castro said.
Asked if the undersecretary agrees that the use of aliases is normal in handling confidential and intelligence funds, Castro said everything must be properly accounted for.
“Mayroon po kasi tayong tinatawag na proper accounting, maliwanag po iyan sa Joint Memorandum 2015-01. Kahit sabihin po nila na ito’y aliases, dapat po ang mga tunay na mga dokumento ay alam po ng SDO (Special Disbursing Officer), alam po ng gumamit, hindi po basta-basta puwedeng gumamit lang ng aliases. So, dapat po ito ay naka-account properly at iyong mga original na mga dokumento ay dapat po nasa vault ng nasabing ahensiya (There is something we call proper accounting, and that is clearly outlined in Joint Memorandum 2015-01. Even if they claim aliases were used, the actual documents must be known to the SDO and the user. One cannot just use aliases carelessly. Everything must be properly accounted for, and the original documents must be kept in the agency’s vault),” Castro said.
“At kapag po na-tap lang ng COA at nagkaroon ng pagtatanong, puwede po nilang ilabas ang lahat ng mga dokumentong ito. Hindi puwedeng magmaang-maangan ang SDO na wala siyang alam (If COA taps them and raises questions, all these documents should be readily available. The SDO cannot claim ignorance),” Castro added.

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