Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon sees a "continuing pattern" of alleged misuse when it comes to confidential funds earmarked for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), particularly under impeachment respondent, Vice President Sara Duterte.

This, after Ridon cited on Monday, April 20 a new notice of disallowance (ND) from the Commission on Audit (COA) that coverred ₱375 million in confidential funds from the OVP.

He said the ND dated March 31, 2026, ordered Vice President Duterte and three other responsible officials to personally return ₱375 million, which represented three separate cash advances of ₱125 million each for confidential expenses incurred between February and September 2023.

This came on top of the earlier ₱73-million disallowance involving 2022 confidential funds, which COA recently upheld.

Ridon said this brought the potential total exposure to ₱448 million, if sustained through the full COA process.

"This latest disallowance is not an isolated finding. It demonstrates a continuing pattern of confidential fund misuse marked by the same fundamental defect: the repeated failure to justify the expenditures with sufficient legal, factual, and documentary basis," the lawyer-solon said.

The three other OVP officials tagged as liable by the agency aside from Duterte were special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, chief acountant Julieta Villadelrey, and Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) Chief Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.

Duterte is the subject of impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives via the Committee on Justice, of which Ridon is a member. 

"At this point, the issue can no longer be framed as a technical audit matter. The scale and repetition of these findings—now potentially reaching ₱448 million in disallowed confidential funds—squarely raise the issue of accountability and constitute a serious breach of public trust," reckoned Ridon.

COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office found that the expenditures failed to meet the requirements for valid confidential fund use under Joint Circular No. 2015-01, citing multiple and recurring violations.

Under COA rules, all persons found responsible are required to return the full amount, underscoring that the obligation is personal—not institutional.

COA has directed the concerned officials to settle the ₱375 million immediately, warning that failure to appeal within six months will render the disallowance final and executory under Presidential Decree No. 1445.