Vice President Sara Duterte is once again under fire over the management of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF), as lawmakers raise concerns about potential mismanagement in her office’s handling of these funds. The Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) utilization of its 2023 CIF, prompting questions from government officials.
During a recent House committee hearing, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez expressed disappointment that Duterte and other OVP officials left before key questions could be addressed. However, Gutierrez noted that COA provided important insights.
“It’s unfortunate that we did not have the proper resource persons from the [OVP], but we were still able to ask COA about the CIF. This hearing is telling because similar issues were raised during the budget hearings, showing a pattern,” said Gutierrez in an Inquirer.net report.
The lawmaker highlighted concerns about the OVP’s spending, especially regarding a ₱500 million CIF for 2023. “There are audit issues related to this ₱500 million. It’s something we’re going to look into further,” he added.
Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing, through a presentation, revealed that COA had issued an audit observation memorandum (AOM) covering ₱164 million of the ₱375 million CIF spent by the OVP in 2023. Suansing explained that the confidential fund was subdivided quarterly, with ₱125 million allocated per quarter. The OVP opted not to use the final ₱125 million after the House of Representatives removed CIF allocations for 2024.
Suansing also noted discrepancies in fund utilization. For the first quarter, ₱67 million of the OVP’s CIF was flagged, followed by ₱62 million in the second quarter and ₱35 million in the third quarter. These figures differ from the ₱73.2 million in confidential funds disallowed by COA in 2022.
Gutierrez stressed the need for transparency and accountability in the handling of public funds, warning that repeated justifications without detailed explanations only fuel suspicion of misuse. “This is public money, not a personal slush fund. The repeated use of templated reporting raises concerns about proper oversight,” he remarked.
The House committee on good government and public accountability convened to examine the OVP’s budget utilization following a privilege speech by Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano. Valeriano questioned the scope of the OVP’s aid programs, suggesting they were primarily focused on Metro Manila and lacked transparency in identifying beneficiaries.
In response, Duterte claimed the inquiry was politically motivated. “This exercise is a well-funded and coordinated political attack aimed at discrediting my name and office,” she said during the hearing, dismissing the accusations as a strategy to damage her prospects for the 2028 elections.
Duterte and the OVP have come under increasing scrutiny, with House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe warning that Duterte may face graft charges if she fails to provide a satisfactory explanation of how public funds were utilized, particularly those flagged by COA.