House Member Leila de Lima Speaks on VP Sara Duterte’s Confidential Funds in 2022, 2023
LEILA DE LIMA – The Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Representative spoke on the confidential funds issue of Vice President Sara Duterte anew.
Amid her pursuit to run for the president in 2028, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is faced with several issues and accusations. Her Confidential Funds issue remains and there are also a lot of criticisms on the performance of the VP amid her rift with the Marcos Jr. administration.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is currently faced with impeachment complaints before the House of Representatives’ Justice Committee. The panel found (2) impeachment raps against the Vice President as sufficient in form, substance, and grounds.
The Confidential Funds issue of the Vice President is one of those raised in the impeachment raps filed against her. She remains questioned regarding the alleged misuse of the P625-million Confidential Funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Here are some of the grounds stated in one of the impeachment raps filed against Duterte before the Office of the House Secretary General of the House of Representatives:
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount over PHP 500 million confidential funds (CF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President from 2022 to 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount of not less than PHP 112.5 million of confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the year 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by corrupting and bribing officials of the DepEd
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in contracting to murder or assassinate the president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in amassing unexplained wealth and failing to disclose all her properties and interests in properties in her SALN
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in committing acts of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection
Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima was one of those who endorsed an impeachment complaint against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. However, ahead of the scrutiny, Tindig Pilipinas withdrew the impeachment rap and decided to support the third impeachment complaint which raised the grounds cited above.
Amid the questions on the confidential funds of the OVP and the DepEd under Duterte, the Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to return P73 million confidential funds.
Recently, ML Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima spoke on the order of COA to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte over the confidential funds of the OVP. Based on News5, the House Member who is also a former senator stressed that the Notice of Disallowance is based from the actual document of COA.
Based on the post, it is related to the spending of the confidential funds of the OVP in 2022 and 2023. She stressed that they are supposedly not just mere allegations.
“Pera ito ng taumbayan na hindi puwedeng lustayin lang sa ilang oras o ilang araw, o ipamigay lang kay ‘Mary Grace Piattos’ at sa iba pang imbentong pangalan at kaduda-dudang mga personalidad,” De Lima said.
Recently, Senate Pres. Tito Sotto revealed that he met with some of the majority senators over the possibility of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s impeachment reaching the Senate.
