Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)

Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun said the country's senators should keep one particular case in mind if and when Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial commences.

This is the case of the public school principal in Catanduanes whom the Sandiganbayan has convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison for pocketing P5,000 in government funds.

Among other charges, the impeachment complaint against the Vice President accuses her of graft and corruption for her alleged failure to account for and her alleged mishandling of P612.5 million in intelligence funds given to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2022 and 2023 when she was education secretary.

“Kung ang isang public school principal ay na-convict at nakulong sa pagbulsa diumano ng P5,000, dapat ma-convict din at matanggal sa puwesto si Vice President Duterte sa umano’yn’ di maipaliwanag na paggamit ng P612.5 million na pera ng taong bayan,” Khonghun said.

(If a public school principal was convicted and jailed for allegedly stealing P5,000, then Vice President Duterte who can't explain what happened to P612.5 million worth of public foods should also be convicted and unseated.)

He says the credibility of the country’s justice and accountability system is at stake in the impending impeachment trial of the country’s No. 2 elected official.

“Dapat pantay ang pagtrato ng sistemang ito sa mga public servant, maging principal ka man o Vice President,” stressed the House assistant majority. 

(This system must treat all public servants equally, be it a principal or Vice President.)

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability conducted several hearings on the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) by OVP and DepEd under VP Duterte’s leadership.

The committee chaired by Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua has flagged large amounts of payments made to and received by hundreds of supposed informants who allegedly provided intelligence or confidential information.

Upon request by the panel, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said it had no record whatsoever of the informants, including the now infamous ‘Mary Grace Piattos,’ prompting committee members to conclude that the recipients were non-existent.

The Chua committee also noted several irregularities in the acknowledgement receipts covering the payments.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned the validity of the use of most of the P612.5-million CIFs, including P125 million exhausted in just 11 days.