During the August 11 Senate impeachment trial, private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan asserted that distributing the Department of Education’s (DepEd) confidential funds nationwide in a single day could only be accomplished by a superhero.
Kapunan questioned state auditor Xylene Del Campo of the Commission on Audit-Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) regarding multiple acknowledgment receipts (ARs) indicating that a single Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) made payout deliveries on the same date across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
”Kasi ako, Marvel Comics ang binabasa ko; Superman ang favorite ko. Kung hindi man Superman ang isang SDO, kaya ba niyang puntahan, sa palagay mo, lahat na ito?” Kapunan asked.
The defense panel for Vice President Sara Duterte immediately objected, calling the line of questioning “speculative.”
”What is speculative about Superman, he can fly anywhere in one day?” Kapunan retorted.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed the prosecution to proceed, noting that despite Kapunan misattributing DC’s Superman to Marvel Comics, the logical impossibility of a single person making nationwide payouts in 24 hours was clear.
”We get your point, counsel,” Escudero remarked.
The prosecution presented three sets of ARs from February 21, February 25, and March 15, 2023, liquidating portions of DepEd’s ₱112.5-million confidential fund. Receipts from single days listed concurrent payouts in distant regions, including Davao, Masbate, Laoag, Negros, and Pangasinan. Del Campo confirmed these documents indicated payments to informants in vastly different regions on identical dates.
Del Campo testified that under a 2015 joint circular, only designated SDOs may disburse confidential funds, with DepEd designating only one officer during Vice President Duterte’s tenure as education chief.
She reaffirmed that the agency head retains primary accountability for confidential fund use, directly touching on Article I charges regarding the alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in funds.