MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman is set to formally request the House prosecution panel to surrender its accumulated evidence concerning the controversial use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced the move on Friday, October 16, stating that the documents will undergo rigorous review for potential criminal charges.
“We are collecting all the records now, and we’re evaluating them so that we can actually evaluate them for proper filing if necessary,” Remulla stated during a press briefing in Manila.
“We will ask the prosecution to turn us to turn over to us their evidence for the other charges that have not been aired out yet. We are entitled to look at that,” he added.
The impending turnover follows a series of explosive revelations brought to light by prosecution witnesses during ongoing impeachment proceedings against the Vice President. Among the primary irregularities exposed during the hearings were:
- Recipients listed under names lacking any birth, marriage, or death registries;
- Entries matching deceased individuals or toddlers as young as three years old;
- Fictitious or highly questionable names, including Mary Grace Piattos, Mico Harina, Timon Pusa, and Andy Lim;
- A total absence of documentation proving that the OVP’s confidential outlays resulted in successful intelligence or surveillance operations;
- Complete lack of paper trails or documentary receipts to back payments distributed to supposed recipients;
- A notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) covering ₱448 million in OVP confidential disbursements;
- The funneling of confidential allocations to military personnel instead of the legally designated Special Disbursement Officer.
Reflecting on the findings, Remulla described the discoveries emerging from the impeachment trial as deeply alarming.
“Pare-pareho lahat yan eh. Basta’t meron talagang series of wrongdoings, they’re all the same to me. They’re all disturbing, but we just have to live with the fact that our job is to prosecute these things. That’s why we have been evaluating properly and filing the necessary cases when ready,” he remarked.
When questioned about whether the comprehensive testimonies could fast-track the agency’s investigation, Remulla admitted that it is “very possible.”
“Very possible. Of course, ang deadline talaga ng trabaho ng Ombudsman is almost yesterday. That’s why we always act with urgency. We just have to make sure that it will stand in court,” Remulla explained.
Under existing guidelines outlined in a 2015 joint circular, the utilization of confidential funds is strictly limited to gathering vital national security intelligence, renting secure transport or safehouses, acquiring specialized operational equipment that bypasses standard procurement without compromising secrecy, and distributing verified cash rewards to informants tied to genuine counter-threat operations.