House prosecution panel spokesperson and Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong broke down the rapid expenditure of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) ₱125-million confidential allocation in December 2022 to illustrate the scale of the alleged financial mismanagement.
During a virtual interview, the lawmaker highlighted that fully utilizing the ₱125 million over an 11-day timeframe translates to an average burn rate of approximately ₱473,000 every single hour. He further emphasized the implausibility of the timeline by pointing out that the 11-day period coincided with several national holidays.
Records indicate that the OVP received the ₱125-million cash advance in late December 2022 and reported exhausting the full amount between December 21 and December 31.
State auditor Roderick Wamil previously questioned the brief utilization window during his testimony, noting the budget was originally designated to cover the entire fourth quarter.
Addressing assertions from the OVP that a portion of the money covered prior commitments made before the disbursement, Adiong stressed that reimbursing past activities violates established regulations governing confidential cash advances.
“Nung natapos na nilang gastusin in 11 days, by the way, kung i-quantify natin yung 11 days, ₱473,000 every hour ang nagagastos, para ma-consume, in 11 days, ang ₱125 million, ganun kabilis at kalaki yung paggasto ng ₱125 million in 11 days,” Adiong stated.
“Ang confidential funds nga is, ano ‘yan cash advance ‘yan. Why would you reimburse something that have already been implemented from the confidential funds, which is actually is intended for specific purpose, guided by a specific criteria on how you handle that, bawal ‘yun,” he added.
Prosecutors also expressed skepticism over claims that the funds were distributed across 134 separate nationwide locations within that compressed period.
“Meron pang pag-distribute nung confidential funds in 11 days, 134 areas all over the country in one day, so paano mo mate-testify ‘yun?” Adiong asked.
As Article I of the impeachment proceedings focuses on how the initial ₱125-million tranche was requested, released, distributed, and liquidated, Adiong noted that the prosecution is relying heavily on contemporaneous official documents.
“Whatever testimony that they would give to the court, whatever narrative that they would provide to the court, still we go back to the documents, the official documents, at hindi nagsisinungaling yung official documents, at hindi nagsisinungaling yung figures na nagre-reflect doon sa official documents, as compared to Colonel Lachica, wala siyang pinirmahan,” Adiong said.