Manila: A Commission on Audit (COA) auditor revealed Monday that Vice President Sara Duterte stands as the only Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) secretary to have received confidential funds, which he reviewed during his tenure at the commission's Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO).
According to Philippines News Agency, state auditor Roderick Wamil testified before the Senate impeachment court, explaining his assignment at the ICFAO from September 2014 to February 2024. During his service, he noted the tenure of three vice presidents - Jejomar Binay, Leni Robredo, and incumbent Sara Duterte. However, only Duterte's Office of the Vice President (OVP) was allocated confidential fund appropriations.
Wamil, during direct examination by private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, emphasized, "Tanging si Vice President Sara Duterte lang po 'yung aking na-audit na may confidential fund (It was only Vice President Duterte who has confidential funds, which I audited)." He further clarified that neither Binay nor Robredo received such appropriations during his assignment at the ICFAO.
Wamil also testified that Duterte was the sole DepEd secretary whose confidential funds he audited, noting, "Dahil siya lang po 'yung naging DepEd Secretary na nagkaroon ng confidential funds ang DepEd (Because it was only in her tenure that DepEd received confidential funds)." He identified former education secretaries Armin Luistro and Leonor Briones as the other agency heads during his assignment.
The audit covered PHP500 million in confidential funds released to the OVP from the fourth quarter of 2022 through the third quarter of 2023, and PHP112.5 million in confidential funds released to the DepEd during the first three quarters of 2023.
Wamil emphasized the necessity for stringent compliance with accounting and auditing rules for confidential funds due to the risk of misuse. "We follow strict compliance since what is involved ay public funds, so dapat strict 'yung accounting and auditing rules to prevent 'yung (accounting and auditing rules must be strictly observed to prevent the) misuse of funds," he stated.
He explained that the COA ICFAO conducts a 'compliance post-audit,' examining whether expenditures are supported by required documents under applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Wamil identified Joint Circular No. 2015-01 as the primary standard for examining confidential and intelligence funds, emphasizing strong internal controls and strict rules to prevent mishandling.
The circular outlines specific purposes for confidential-fund spending, including purchasing information relevant to national security, renting vehicles for confidential activities, maintaining safe houses, and rewarding informers under specified conditions. It also prohibits the use of such funds for salaries, wages, and other unauthorized expenses.
The prosecution presented Wamil to authenticate audit records covering the confidential funds allocated to the OVP and DepEd, further highlighting the unique allocation of these funds during Duterte's tenure.
