Three military officers—one retired and two active—have been summoned by the Senate impeachment court to testify in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lead House prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro announced that retired Col. Manaros Boransing II, Col. Magtangol Panopio, and Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao are scheduled to take the stand on Wednesday, August 27, regarding the utilization of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2023 confidential funds.
“This is prompted by the inability of the next hostile witness, in the person of Edward Fajarda, to make himself available tomorrow and on Wednesday,” Luistro stated, explaining that Fajarda was unable to attend after suffering a stroke.
The development traces back to an October 2024 congressional inquiry by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into the OVP and DepEd budgets.
Former Education spokesperson Michael Poa, who currently serves on Duterte’s defense team, previously informed lawmakers that he instructed then-Undersecretary and retired Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin to obtain military certifications to support the liquidation of ₱15 million in confidential funds disbursed for informants during Duterte’s tenure as Education Secretary.
However, Boransing, Panopio, and Bajao testified during the House probe that while Mempin requested their signatures on the certification documents, they were unaware that these signatures would be used to liquidate DepEd’s ₱15-million confidential spending for informants.
Although the certifications indicated the funds were spent on a Youth Leadership Seminar (YLS), Boransing clarified that DepEd’s confidential funds were not used to finance the event.
“For our participants [of the YLS]…they used the local government unit funds. For the participants from the other stakeholders from DepEd, from PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), from the police, of course they used their own funds,” Boransing explained.
“We are not aware,” Boransing noted when asked if they knew the intended purpose of the certifications they signed.
This lack of awareness was echoed by fellow signatories, including Bajao, Panopio, and Lt. Col. Carlos Sangdaan, Jr.
Prior to the testimony of the military officers, the prosecution panel is set to present Office of the Vice President Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio as a hostile witness on Tuesday, August 25.