Officials from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) attempted to bypass standard oversight by asking the Commission on Audit (COA) to issue an informal “audit query” instead of a formal Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) for deficiencies in their confidential fund submissions, a state auditor testified Tuesday.
Testifying on the 12th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial, COA auditor Roderick Wamil detailed the audit process covering ₱612.5 million in confidential funds—₱500 million for the OVP and ₱112.5 million for DepEd—both of which were headed by Duterte during the audited period.
Wamil, previously assigned to COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO), testified that the request occurred during a mid-September 2023 meeting. The meeting was attended by OVP Chief of Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez, former DepEd spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa (now part of Duterte’s legal defense team), ICFAO head Nilda Plaras, and audit team leader Gloria Camora.
During the discussion regarding liquidation guidelines under Joint Circular (JC) No. 2015-01, Plaras explained that any submission deficiencies would trigger an official AOM.
“They asked po if instead of an [AOM], in case may audit findings, ay audit query na lang po iyong i-issue sa kanila,” Wamil told the court during direct examination by private prosecutor Atty. Lorna Kapunan.
Wamil noted that such a request fell outside standard government auditing procedures.
“Hindi po ako familiar sa audit query since hindi naman po siya kasama doon sa issuances under the [JC] 2015-01,” he explained.
The ICFAO denied the request and proceeded with standard protocol, issuing formal AOMs after discovering irregularities in the filings.
“Hindi po pumayag si ICFAO since hindi naman po siya sanctioned nung aming [JC] 2015-01,” Wamil added.
An AOM is an official written notification requiring an agency to justify or correct identified audit flaws. Wamil further testified that when COA personnel attempted to serve the notice at the OVP, staff refused receipt, claiming no authorized representative was present.
The testimony supports Article I of the impeachment complaint against Duterte, which accuses her of misusing ₱612.5 million in confidential funds across both agencies.