VP Sara Duterte —Lyn Rillon Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. —HREP Picture
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte and different former officers of the Division of Training (DepEd) may face plunder costs.
That is except they might be capable of clarify and account for the way P112.5 million in confidential funds allotted to the company was spent throughout the former training secretary’s tenure.
Vice President Duterte was reminded by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. on Sunday that she was not immune from fits and inspired Duterte to elucidate the “questionable” disbursement of the Deped’s confidential funds.
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The Home of Representatives’ panel on good authorities and public accountability, which is chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua, may advocate the submitting of plunder costs towards Duterte and a number of other DepEd officers concerned within the alleged misuse of the company’s P112.5 million confidential funds, stated Gonzales.
The funds in query have been a part of the P150 million allotted to the DepEd in 2023 purportedly to be used in packages involving crime and abuse prevention in colleges, anti-extremism efforts and counterinsurgency.
Gonzales maintained the testimony of useful resource individuals within the committee’s Oct. 17 listening to opened the previous training secretary and her officers to attainable plunder costs.
He famous that it was proven throughout the inquiry that the P112.5-million confidential funds have been withdrawn by means of three separate checks, every price P37.5 million, issued to DepEd particular disbursing officer Edward Fajarda for the primary three quarters of 2023.
Labeled as MOOE
The checks have been supposedly encashed by Fajarda on the Land Financial institution of the Philippines and disbursed with the vouchers labeled as “Upkeep and Different Working Bills (MOOE)” and never as confidential funds.
Gonzales stated because it’s below MOOE and never labeled confidential funds, it raised critical issues because it indicated an absence of transparency and attainable misuse of public funds.
The lawmaker from Pampanga burdened in Filipino: “That is taxpayers’ cash and we’d like to verify it was correctly used.”
“If the Vice President, who headed the company at the moment, can’t present a transparent and adequate rationalization on how the funds have been used, it’s our accountability to take authorized motion together with the submitting of plunder costs to guard the general public curiosity,” Gonzales stated, noting that the brink for plunder is at P50 million.
He added clarifications made by authorized and constitutional consultants who’ve stated that whereas a sitting Vice President was impeachable, the nation’s second highest official didn’t get pleasure from immunity from go well with and was open to felony costs whereas in workplace.
Money advances
In the course of the Oct. 17 panel listening to, training undersecretary for finance Annalyn Sevilla confirmed that three P37.5-million checks for confidential funds have been issued to and subsequently encashed as money advances by Fajarda, being the company’s particular disbursing officer.
Sevilla stated that other than encashing the checks, Fajarda was additionally liable for transporting the funds.
Fajarda, who has been summoned by the panel, is but to look earlier than the committee whereas Duterte has not responded to allegations of the alleged misuse of confidential funds when she was DepEd chief from July 2022 to July this 12 months.
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