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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Prosecution switching gears, eyes unfurling of confidential funds misuse evidence next week

Prosecution switching gears, eyes unfurling of confidential funds misuse evidence next week

Published Jul 15, 2026 09:43 pm

At A Glance

  • Prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro requested subpoenas for three witnesses to testify on article I regarding confidential funds.
  • The House alleged Vice President Sara Duterte's offices misused P612.5 million in confidential funds, including P125 million spent in 11 days at the OVP in December 2022.
  • The Senate impeachment court in turn ordered the witnesses to appear and present documents, with the first testimony set for July 22.
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (Senate PRIB)
Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro (Senate PRIB)


Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds will soon take center stage in the ongoing Senate impeachment trial.
This, after lead prosecutor Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro requested the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday, July 15 to subpoena its first three witnesses for article I of the articles of impeachment, which covered the confidential funds issue.
“We would like to beg the kind indulgence of the honorable impeachment court to note our next witnesses. This will be in support of article I, confidential funds," Lusitro told presiding officer Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
“We are requesting that we be allowed to request the issuance of subpoenas for our first three witnesses for confidential funds, including Marivic Pareja of the Legislative Archives and Museum Management Service of the House of Representatives, and two LandBank employees, Violeta Constantino, former branch manager of the LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch, and Nenita Camposano, former branch manager of the LandBank DepEd (Department of Education) branch,” she added.
The alleged misuse of the P612.5 million is linked to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the DepEd, which Duterte led as its secretary from 2022 to 2024.
The prosecution is about to wrap up its presentation of evidence under article IV (grave threats and inciting to sedition) on Tuesday, July 21.
"If we will be presenting [National Bureau of Investigation Director] Attorney Melvin Matibag on Tuesday, then this means that the first witness for confidential funds will be presented on July 22, that is Wednesday,” noted the lead prosecutor.
Duterte, 52, the second highest official of the land, is being tried on four articles of impeachment.  
Article I accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse, misappropriation and irregular disbursement of confidential funds.
The House alleges that Duterte’s offices spent P612.5 million in confidential funds, including P125 million in just 11 days at the OVP in December 2022, through allegedly irregular and undocumented disbursements, including acknowledgment receipts bearing fictitious names.
Luistro, in a subsequent press conference after the hearing, said the prosecution was equally confident in the evidence it intends to present on the confidential funds article, as it did with the death threats article.
“We are equally confident. We have strong evidence, and that is why we feel ready to proceed to the presentation of evidence in support of the misuse, misappropriation, and irregular disbursement of confidential funds of both the OVP and the DepEd,” she said.
The court has ordered the three witnesses to appear before the impeachment court and produce documents related to the confidential funds charge.

Related Tags

Gerville \"Jinky Bitrics\" Luistro Sara Duterte Impeachment confidential funds impeachment trial witness
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