Minority legislators are pushing for the recovery of hundreds of millions in public money flagged by state auditors from Vice President Sara Duterte’s office, calling for the proceeds to be channeled into fuel subsidies and social services as global oil prices climb amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
The Commission on Audit issued a notice in March disallowing P375 million in confidential spending logged by the Office of the Vice President in 2023, citing missing documentation and expenses that could not be justified. Duterte and three other officials named in the audit notice retain the right to appeal.
If the 2023 disallowance is upheld, the total amount subject to recovery could reach P443 million — a figure that includes P73.28 million in secret funds from 2022 that auditors had previously affirmed as disallowed.
ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co said the flagged amounts represent 73 percent of the P612.5 million in total confidential funds allocated to Duterte — a proportion they described as alarming.
“This staggering rate is not normal; it points to a pattern of abuse and a grave breach of public trust,” the Makabayan bloc said in a joint statement.
The bloc traced the broader controversy to Duterte’s confidential fund allocations across two posts — her current role as vice president and her earlier stint as education secretary — which have become the basis of ongoing impeachment proceedings against her.
“This is funding that should have been used for aid, services and responses to crises – not for so-called ‘confidential’ expenses that lack clear justification and sufficient documentation,” Tinio, Elago, and Co said.
Beyond demanding repayment, Makabayan also called on Congress to revisit the legal framework that allows civilian agencies to access confidential funds at all, arguing the mechanism is structurally designed to evade accountability.
“[It] is structurally prone to abuse because it is designed to operate behind secrecy, weak documentation, and limited public scrutiny,” they said. “The current scandal shows how easily it becomes a shadow budget insulated from transparency and accountability.”
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, issuing a separate statement Monday evening, rejected any attempt to frame the COA findings as unverified claims.
“These are not mere allegations but a decision based on COA’s review of actual documents,” she said. “This cannot simply be buried by fake news and disinformation. It cannot be brushed aside through evasion or desperate attempts to divert the issue.”
Makabayan’s demand for full restitution was unequivocal: “Every disallowed peso must be restored to the public coffers and redirected to urgent measures that genuinely respond to the crisis.”
