Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong believed that the supposed haste by which P125 million was encashed and spent betrayed an alleged effort to misuse the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds.

Adiong, a spokesperson of the prosecution panel seeking to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, said the speed of the cash transactions must be examined alongside the deficiencies identified in the documents submitted for audit.

“Ibig sabihin, kung titingnan natin 'yung pag-encash nito na unusual, na madaliang inencash, madalian talagang ginastos din ito. Dahil madaliang ginastos, hindi tugma-tugma yung dates, at hindi tama 'yung kanilang binigay ng mga documentary evidence to prove that the confidential funds was used in compliance with the Joint Circular ng COA (Commission on Audit),” Adiong said in a press conference Monday, Aug. 3.

(That means, if we look at the encashment that was unusual, hurriedly encashed, it was also quickly spent. Because it was quickly spent, the dates do not match, and the documentary evidence they provided is not correct to prove that the confidential funds were used in compliance with the COA Joint Circular.)

Former Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) officials earlier testified in the hearings that the OVP’s P125-million treasury check was encashed in full after advance coordination with the branch to assemble the unusually large amount of cash.

House prosecutor Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said in the same presser that some acknowledgment receipts (ARs) offered to justify the December 2022 spending indicated dates from a period when the OVP no longer had confidential funds.

“Yung ginagamit nilang justification para sa December 2022 ay nasa last quarter ng December 2023. So dito pa lang makikita mo na ang problema,” Chua noted.⠀

(The justification they used for December 2022 is dated in the last quarter of December 2023. So right there you can already see the problem.)

“Pangalawa, mayroon pa rin doon na ginamit na justification na ang petsa ay November 2022. Etong buwan na ito wala pang confidential fund dahil ang confidential fund, uulitin ko, ay para sa pechang December 2022,” he added.

(Second, there is also a justification dated November 2022. In that month there was still no confidential fund because, I repeat, the confidential fund was for December 2022.)

The discrepancies formed part of a wider audit review that began with the OVP’s planning documents and proceeded to the liquidation records and evidence of payment.

“Doon sa physical and financial plan ang sabi ng COA hindi siya compliant dahil unang-una hindi specific at hindi particular kung anong confidential activities ang gagawin nila,” Adiong said.

(In the physical and financial plan, COA said it was not compliant because, first of all, it was not specific and not particular about what confidential activities they would undertake.)

The absence of specific activities prevented auditors from matching the proposed use of the money with the amounts released and the accomplishments later reported by the agency.

“So klaro po 'yun, 'iyun po 'yung na-establish natin talaga na meron talagang effort in attempt to really misuse or misappropriate the P125 million confidential funds intended to be used with for the last quarter of 2022,” maintained the Mindanaoan.

(So it is clear, that is what we have truly established—that there was indeed an effort and attempt to misuse or misappropriate the P125 million confidential funds intended for use in the last quarter of 2022.)