The Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and key subordinates to return P448.287 million, nearly 90 percent of the P500 million in confidential funds spent by her office, after uncovering irregular transactions, undocumented expenditures and clear violations of auditing rules.
Testifying before the Senate impeachment court, Xylene Mae del Campo, supervising auditor of the COA Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, identified Duterte as among those held liable for the disallowed spending in her capacity as head of agency.
“‘Pag nag-issue kami ng Notice of Disallowance… we demand them na ibalik po ‘yung pondo,” Del Campo told the impeachment tribunal.
The P448.287 million order stems from two separate notices of disallowance: P73.287 million cut from the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) P125-million confidential fund spent over just 11 days in December 2022 and the entire P375 million disbursed during the first three quarters of 2023.
The disallowed OVP funds form the core of Article I of the impeachment case against Duterte. House prosecutors accuse the Vice President of mismanaging P500 million in OVP confidential funds, as well as another P112.5 million released in 2023 to the Department of Education (DepEd), which she then headed as cabinet secretary.
COA issued its first Notice of Disallowance on November 5, 2024, targeting P73.287 million spent between December 21 and 31, 2022. Auditors discovered that P69.787 million went to reward payments lacking proof of successful intelligence operations, while P3.5 million bought office furniture, desktop computers, and printers without receipts or evidence that the items served confidential functions.
Although the COA Proper affirmed this initial disallowance on April 10, 2026, the OVP filed a motion for reconsideration in May, which remains pending.
The state auditor issued a second Notice of Disallowance on March 31, 2026, striking down the OVP’s entire P375-million confidential budget for the first nine months of 2023.
Del Campo testified that a major catalyst for the decision was sworn testimony from former OVP special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta, who admitted to turning over cash advances directly to Col. Raymond Dante Lachica, then head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, on Duterte’s orders. Because Lachica was not a designated SDO, the move violated basic audit rules.
“This is a direct violation po ng joint circular, specifically ‘yung Item 6.1.1 po,” Del Campo said, referring to Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which strictly prohibits transferring cash advances between officers.
“Sa OVP po, ito ay irregular po, dahil hindi po ito naging compliant sa joint circular,” she added.
Beyond the illegal transfer, auditors found P62 million in reward payments lacking proof of success, P199 million in medical, food and supply aid that could not be verified through acknowledgement receipts and a P300,000 informant payment disbursed before the corresponding cash advance was even released.
COA held Duterte jointly liable alongside Acosta, OVP chief accountant Julieta Villadelrey and Lachica. Asked by private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan why the Vice President herself bears liability, Del Campo pointed to Duterte’s signature approving the transactions in OVP accomplishment reports.
When Kapunan asked Del Campo to break down the term “accountable” into plain language, the auditor did not mince words.
“‘Yung taong may pananagutan po dun sa pondo na binigay sa kanya,” Del Campo testified, confirming that Duterte bears ultimate responsibility for the public money. “Opo, tama po. Kasi po ito is pondo ng bayan po.”
The OVP retains the right to appeal the P375-million disallowance before the COA Commission Proper within the standard 180-day period.