Manila: The Senate impeachment court has set an August 13 deadline for BDO Unibank and Security Bank to submit complete financial records related to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte. Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero announced that while both banks had submitted some documents to the Office of the Clerk of Court on July 30, they requested additional time due to the extensive volume of records required for retrieval, reproduction, and certification.
According to Philippines News Agency, BDO Unibank was granted an additional 10 banking days to provide comprehensive account transactions, ledgers, journals, and transaction logs as stipulated by the court's subpoena duces tecum. Furthermore, the court mandated that BDO supply four additional USB flash drives containing electronic copies of the submitted records. Security Bank, on the other hand, faced difficulties in completing document printing related to Gen. Corp. Industries Inc. and Kalye 88 Foods Corp. The court ordered Security Bank to submit by August 13 three certified copies and five USB drives with complete electronic records for these entities.
Escudero stated that similar electronic submission requirements would apply to other banks, government agencies, and offices under subpoena. On July 30, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Anti-Money Laundering Council, BDO, Philippine Savings Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Security Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Bank of the Philippine Islands all submitted documents to the court. The Clerk of Court accepted the BIR records following the commissioner's presentation of presidential authorization, as mandated by the National Internal Revenue Code.
The presiding officer assured that both the prosecution and defense would have equal opportunities to inspect, copy, and study the documents once all submissions are complete. These records pertain to the final impeachment article the court is set to review. Meanwhile, former Commission on Audit state auditor Roderick Wamil has been called to return on August 4 at 10 a.m. to continue his testimony.
In his testimony, Wamil revealed that the Office of the Vice President received a notice of suspension due to concerns over its use of confidential funds in 2022. The notice was issued after the OVP's response and supporting documents failed to sufficiently address audit observations. Under Joint Memorandum Circular 2015-01, a notice of suspension is issued to temporarily halt the audit approval of expenses deemed illegal, improper, or irregular unless adequately explained or supported by necessary documents.
The notice of suspension for the OVP's fourth-quarter 2022 use of confidential funds amounted to PHP29 million. Wamil, part of the COA-Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office in 2022, identified the use of acknowledgment receipts instead of official receipts or sales invoices for purchasing goods like medicines and computers as a key issue. A total of 845 acknowledgment receipts were issued for PHP125 million in confidential funds during the fourth quarter, with a PHP150,000 discrepancy noted between the OVP's accomplishment report and the actual spending. Additionally, some expenses listed in the acknowledgment receipts were absent from the OVP's submitted accomplishment report.
