Manila: Vice President Sara Duterte reviewed and approved Office of the Vice President (OVP) responses to Commission on Audit (COA) findings on confidential funds before they were signed and transmitted, an OVP official testified to the impeachment court Wednesday. Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo established this while questioning OVP Assistant Secretary and Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, who admitted having no firsthand knowledge of how the confidential funds were actually spent.
According to Philippines News Agency, Ortonio said he was instructed to consult then-special disbursing officer Gina Acosta and security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica for information needed in responding to COA. 'That's why po, sir, meron pong instruction that was given to me, sir, by the head of agency, sir, to talk with the special disbursing officer and the security officer para makuha po yung mga information from them and malatag po doon sa reply to the AOMs (That's why, sir, I was instructed by the head of agency to talk with the special disbursing officer and security officer to get information from them and include it in the replies to the Audit Observation Memorandum),' he said.
Tulfo then asked whether Duterte herself saw the explanations before they were sent to auditors. Ortonio replied that all responses were given to the Vice President 'for her review and final approval' before he signed and submitted them to COA. 'So dumaan na sa table ng VP (So it had already passed through the Vice President's desk),' Tulfo said. 'Yes, sir,' Ortonio replied.
Meanwhile, Senator-judge Joel Villanueva stressed that confidentiality cannot erase accountability over public funds after Ortonio said information used to answer state auditors came from the officer who implemented the questioned activities. During his interjection, Villanueva asked Ortonio what he personally verified before telling the COA that transactions involving PHP125 million in confidential funds were 'valid, proper, and regular.'
Ortonio said he consulted the OVP security officer about how the activities were implemented in the field. 'I consulted po our security officer on how the implementation was done on the field, sir. And what was relayed to me, sir, yun po yung nilagay ko sa (that's what I indicated in the) draft for the reply, sir,' he testified. According to Ortonio, he was told that cash was released to informants or agents who represented that they needed the money to purchase medicines and supplies.
Villanueva also noted that COA continued asking for supporting documents even after the OVP responded to its initial audit observations. Ortonio said the OVP subsequently supplied additional information sought by the auditors in response to the notice of disallowance. 'Gusto ko lang hong sabihin that indeed yung confidentiality may limit what can be disclosed to the public, but it cannot erase yung accountability within the government (I just want to say that indeed confidentiality may limit what can be disclosed to the public, but it cannot erase accountability within the government),' Villanueva said.
The exchanges came on the 19th day of Duterte's impeachment trial, where the handling and liquidation of OVP confidential funds remain under scrutiny.
