House prosecutors assert that official records from the 2024 congressional inquiry, now before the Senate impeachment court, demonstrate a consistent pattern of withholding information and resisting scrutiny regarding Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s confidential funds.
House impeachment team spokesperson Rep. Ace Barbers highlighted the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) refusal to participate in the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability inquiry, along with efforts to block the release of requested documents.
“So obviously na merong pagpipigil, merong pagtatago sa katotohanan. Kaya nga, these are all as hiding the truth. Kumbaga, hindi transparent, hindi open,” Barbers said.
His remarks follow the Senate impeachment court’s decision to take judicial notice of the 2024 House committee records after Duterte’s defense team stipulated to their custody and transmittal.
Key documents submitted into evidence include an Aug. 21, 2024 letter sent by then-OVP Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez to Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba, asking COA not to comply with a House subpoena for OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) documents. Also included was a Sept. 23, 2024 letter sent by Duterte to committee chairman Rep. Joel Chua, stating she would not attend deliberations and requesting the inquiry’s termination. Additionally, a Nov. 5, 2024 position paper was submitted by Lopez, former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta, former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda, and others, formally refusing to attend hearings and seeking to halt the probe.
Barbers noted that these actions illustrate the persistent obstacles House investigators faced while examining the transactions.
“Nung panahon pa lang ng committee hearing sa Kongreso, wala na ngang cooperation, walang participation at meron nga action pigilan ’yung mga dokumentong sina-subpoena ng committee para maging basehan ito sa investigation and legislation,” he added.
Addressing whether these moves aimed to evade accountability, Barbers emphasized that public funds demand full transparency: “Considering that a large amount of public funds were used, eh dapat may paliwanag sa bayan.”
Under Article I of the impeachment complaint, Duterte faces charges over the alleged misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of P612.5 million in confidential funds. This total includes P500 million allocated to the OVP between December 2022 and September 2023, and P112.5 million disbursed to DepEd across three quarters in 2023 during her tenure as education secretary.