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COA witness says VP Sara signed liquidation report for P125-M confidential fund-cash advance
Philippines
National
COA witness says VP Sara signed liquidation report for P125-M confidential fund-cash advance
COA witness says VP Sara signed liquidation report for P125-M confidential fund-cash advance
Published Aug 3, 2026 01:51 pm
At A Glance
- COA auditor Roderick Wamil testified that Vice President Sara Duterte signed OVP liquidation documents certifying the P125‑million confidential fund cash advance was accomplished, despite being disbursed in only 11 days.
- Wamil identified Duterte's signature on disbursement vouchers, accomplishment reports, and certifications, noting that the reports lacked details of specific confidential activities required under Joint Circular No. 2015‑01.
- The prosecution panel presented 15 boxes of evidence covering P612.5 million in OVP and DepEd confidential funds, echoing earlier House findings of fictitious recipients and irregular acknowledgment receipts.
Vice President Sara Duterte (left), COA auditor Roderick Wamil (Senate PRIB)
Impeachment trial respondent Vice President Sara Duterte signed the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) liquidation report certifying that the purpose of its P125-million confidential fund-cash advance had been accomplished,
Prosecution witness Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Roderick Wamil gave this testimony before senator-judges Monday, Aug. 3 during day 11 of the Senate impeachment trial.
This was in continuation of the litigation on article I of the four articles of impeachment, which covered the alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds on the part of the respondent.
Wamil--during direct examination by prosecutor Lorna Kapunan--identified Duterte’s signature on the related disbursement voucher, accomplishment report, and an OVP certification.
On the disbursement voucher, Wamil said Duterte certified matters concerning the legality of the cash advance and its expenditure under her direct supervision.
Asked to identify the signature appearing above Duterte’s name, Wamil answered: “That is the signature po of the Vice President Sara Duterte.”
Kapunan then showed Wamil a liquidation report dated Jan. 10, 2023. The document carried a certification that the purpose of the cash advance had been duly accomplished.
“Ang significance po nung kanyang pirma dito ay kanya pong sinertify na ’yung purpose po nung kanilang cash advance from the confidential fund ay na-accomplish po ng agency,” Wamil explained.
(The significance of his signature here is that he certified the purpose of their cash advance from the confidential fund was accomplished by the agency.)
P125 million in 11 days
The liquidation report covered the period from Dec. 21 to 31, 2022. Wamil said the underlying Physical and Financial Plan indicated that the cash advance was intended for the entire fourth quarter, covering October through December.
“Based on this document po, na-disburse lang siya (it was disbursed) from December 21 to 31, 2022, or around 11 days,” he told the court.
Wamil said the documents placed the amount involved at P125 million. He clarified that the 11-day period came from the OVP’s own liquidation report.
The OVP's alleged spending of P125 million in just 11 days has been among the more persistent allegations of wrongdoing against Duterte ever since she was first impeached by the House in 2025.
Kapunan next presented the OVP accomplishment report submitted to COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Office. Wamil again identified Duterte’s signature, this time beneath the words “approved by”.
“It signifies po that the signatory, or the Vice President, approved the contents of this accomplishment report,” Wamil said.
At any rate, the COA witness found that the accomplishment report "did not enumerate the specific confidential activities" undertaken by the OVP.
He said such details were necessary for COA to determine whether the expenditures fell within the allowable purposes listed under Item 4.8 of Joint Circular No. 2015-01.
A separate OVP certification bore Duterte’s signature under the word “attested". Wamil explained the significance of that notation in the audit.
“Ang ibig sabihin po ng ‘attested’ ay kanyang kino-confirm at bine-verify na ’yung contents nung certification na ito ay totoo,” he said.
('Attested’ means she is confirming and verifying that the contents of this certification are true.)
Wamil observed that the certification was dated Jan. 10, 2022 even though it was pertaining to a cash advance for the fourth quarter of 2022 and was notarized on Jan. 16, 2023.
He described this as a discrepancy in the dates but expressly said his team found no other violation in that certification because the required form had been submitted.
“After the evaluation of those documents, since I noted that the documents are not compliant with the requirements of Joint Circular 2015-01, I drafted an Audit Observation Memorandum,” Wamil said.
The audit was based on the full set of OVP liquidation documents rather than one record in isolation.
15 boxes
Monday's Senate impeachment trial began with the visual of 15 boxes of documentary evidence being hauled to the session hall. The boxes were marked with the words "confidential funds".
(Senate PRIB)
"Your Honors, please, as you can see in front of you, we have 15 boxes, 15 boxes of confidential fund [records],” Kapunan told the court.
She said the records consisted of liquidation documents submitted by the OVP. and the Department of Education (DepEd) to the COA in support of the liquidation of their confidential funds.
Duterte served as DepEd secretary from 2022 to 2024.
The documents cover P500 million in OVP confidential funds for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first three quarters of 2023, and P112.5 million in DepEd confidential funds for the first three quarters of 2023. This totalled to P612.5 million.
Many of the records are expected to relate to the liquidation documents examined during the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s 2024 inquiry into Duterte’s confidential funds.
That investigation uncovered acknowledgment receipts bearing names such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Milky Sekuya” and “Kokoy Villamin", which were purportedly among the fictitious recipients used to justify confidential fund disbursements.
It also cited Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) certifications showing no matching birth records for many listed recipients and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) findings that several acknowledgment receipts appeared to have been signed by the same hand.