MANILA – The House of Representatives’ Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability might recommend a plunder case against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio for alleged misuse of her P112.5 million in confidential funds.
House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. said the panel may consider the move if Duterte “fails to account for P112.5 million in confidential funds which were encashed as cash advances” by the Department of Education in 2023.
Duterte-Carpio served as Education Secretary from July 2022 until July 2023.
“Kung ang Bise Presidente, bilang pinuno ng DepEd noong panahong iyon, ay hindi makapagbigay ng malinaw at sapat na paliwanag kung paano ginamit ang perang ito, tungkulin namin na ituloy ang kinakailangang mga legal na hakbang,” Gonzales said.
“Kabilang (sa mga hakbang) ang kasong plunder, upang maprotektahan ang interes ng publiko,” he added. “Pera ito ng taumbayan, at kailangan nating tiyakin na ito ay nagamit ng tama.”
Gonzales questioned during the previous House hearing why the funds were withdrawn through three different checks each worth P37.5 million and were made in the first three quarters of 2023.
The said checks were allegedly issued to DepEd Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Edward Fajarda, among six OVP officers and personnel who repeatedly skipped the House inquiry.
Gonzales stated that there were alleged discrepancies in documentation, since the disbursement vouchers were labeled as Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) instead of confidential funds.
“Kung hindi maipaliwanag ang paggamit ng P112.5 million, we may have no choice but to consider recommending the filing of a plunder case,” Gonzales added.
The funds in question were part of the P150 million allocated to DepEd in 2023 for programs on preventing abuse in schools, efforts anti-extremism and addressing insurgency./PN
