Manila: Counsel for the panel of prosecutors, lawyer Lorna Kapunan, on Tuesday said only Superman could have done what was indicated in the documents submitted by the Department of Education (DepEd) to justify the use of its confidential funds. Kapunan made the remark after reading before a prosecution witness and senator-judges scores of acknowledgement receipts of confidential funds paid off on the same day in different locations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
According to Philippines News Agency, Kapunan's remarks earned an immediate objection from the defense counsel, saying the question was speculative. "What is speculative about Superman, he can fly anywhere in one day?" Kapunan retorted. Presiding Senator-judge Francis Escudero did not sustain the objection and instead directed Kapunan to move on. "We get your point, counsel," Escudero said, adding that it would be "physically impossible" for a lone disbursing officer to make confidential fund payments in far-flung locations on the same day. Escudero then noted an earlier admission that the confidential funds had been turned over to another officer.
"And there was earlier admission that the SDO gave the funds to a Col. Lachica, probably even more. So that remains to be seen and proven in the coming days," he said, referring to testimonies that the funds were turned over by the DepEd SDO to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, who was then head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group. Escudero appeared to have mixed up the security officers involved. Lachica, then head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, figured in earlier testimony involving the OVP confidential funds.
In the case of the DepEd, Del Campo later testified that Edard Fajarda admitted under oath during a House inquiry that he turned over the confidential fund cash advances to Col. Dennis Nolasco, who was part of the same security group. In her direct questioning of Del Campo, Kapunan read three batches of acknowledgement receipts (ARs) purportedly to support the liquidation of the PHP112.5-million CIF given to the DepEd in 2023. The first batch was dated Feb. 21, 2023, the second four days later on Feb. 25, and the third on March 15, 2023.
Among the Feb. 21 ARs that Kapunan read were for PHP50,000, no name but with signature, paid in Danao; PHP100,000 in Malolos; PHP45,000 in Negros Occidental; and another AR with address in Negros Oriental. The Feb. 25 receipts included PHP200,000 paid in Masbate, PHP100,000 in Laoag City, PHP45,000 in Davao City, one AR indicating an amount paid in Agusan del Norte, PHP50,000 in Olongapo City, PHP150,000 in Masbate, PHP45,000 in Davao City, and PHP50,000 in Pangasinan. Kapunan read the March 15 ARs in quick succession, also mentioning the amounts, supposed recipients, and the date funds were allegedly distributed.
Asked about the significance of the documents, Del Campo said they showed that different amounts were given to informants in different places in one day. Del Campo also testified that under a 2015 joint circular issued by COA, the Department of Budget and Management, and three other agencies, only the Special Disbursing Officer is authorized to distribute confidential and intelligence funds. She said in the case of the DepEd, when the Vice President was Education Secretary, the latter did not designate another person as SDO other than Fajarda.
Del Campo also affirmed the assertion of the prosecution's first auditor-witness, Roderick Wamil, that under the joint circular, the agency head bears primary responsibility for the use of confidential funds. House prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers, meanwhile, said the latest testimony raised questions about the liquidation of the OVP and DepEd confidential funds, stressing that the proceedings ultimately concern accountability for public funds.
"The issue is not about fiction or imagination. No Superman is needed to understand the improbability of what the records appear to show," he said in a press briefing. "If the liquidation documents indicate that a lone Special Disbursement Officer personally made all those disbursements on the same day, then those records naturally invite closer scrutiny. That is precisely why the Senate Impeachment Court is hearing evidence - to determine whether the documentation faithfully reflects what actually transpired."
Barbers said the prosecution maintains that the testimony and documentary evidence presented so far raise significant questions about the regularity of the liquidation process. He said that under COA rules on the liquidation and audit of confidential funds, accountable officers are expected to maintain sufficient documentation to support disbursements and establish that public funds were used only for authorized purposes. Whether those standards were met is among the issues before the impeachment court.
"Confidential funds are not exempt from accountability simply because they are confidential," Barbers said. "They remain public funds. Every peso comes from the taxpayers, and every peso must be supported by proper documentation and accounted for in accordance with the law and COA regulations. Public office carries with it the highest obligation to safeguard the people's money."
