Panel to COA: Submit audit reports on OVP, DepEd, including secret funds

Rep. France Castro
—HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has been directed to submit audit reports involving the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) — including reports on confidential fund (CF) expenditures for 2022 and 2023.

At the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations’ hearing on COA’s proposed budget for 2025 on Tuesday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro questioned the commission about the audit reports on these two offices, noting that this has been the subject of previous requests made by her office.

COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba said the OVP has already submitted its liquidation reports, and they have already released audit actions regarding the office’s P125 million CF funds for 2022.

Castro asked about the findings, but she also acknowledged that these cannot be divulged by COA because of the secretive nature of the CF — leading her to make a motion to subpoena the audit report and other documents.

“Since Madam Chair, they could not mention the findings here, the report, or any observations made by COA — but the people are interested to know how the confidential funds were spent, how it was used, and if it followed the guidelines, the joint guidelines,” Castro said.

“So may I therefore move Madam Chair to subpoena duces tecum be issued to COA for these AOMs (audit observation memorandum), or if there are any notice of disallowance or suspension issued to the Office of the Vice President, and to the Department of Education.  I so move Madam Chair,” she added.

After this motion, the hearing was suspended to deliberate Castro’s request.  When the hearing resumed, Nueva Ecija 2nd District Rep. Joseph Gilbert Violago and Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo — appropriations panel senior vice chair who was presiding over the hearing — decided to act on Castro’s motion once the deliberations of all agencies’ proposed budgets are done.

“Madam Chair the motion of Rep. Castro, I think since we are only in the budget briefing today, I think we just have to act on it in the proper time, so maybe we can consider if there is still time to accommodate that motion in another session or hearing Madam Chair,” Violago said.

“So Cong. Castro, as soon as all the briefings are done, then that motion can be entertained, before the whole committee,” Quimbo added.

However, over an hour later, Quimbo approved Castro’s motion.

“Earlier there were multiple motions relating to confidential funds, there was a motion by Cong. France, to issue a subpoena duces tecum requiring COA to submit the audit report of the OVP, and use of the confidential funds for 2022 and 2023, and which was reiterated by the Honorable (Arlene) Brosas and the Honorable (Raoul) Manuel supported it and at the same time,” Quimbo said.

“The chair is now ready to rule.  By virtue of the oversight power of the committee on appropriations, the motion to issue a subpoena duces tecum requiring COA to submit the audit report of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education and the use of the confidential funds for fiscal year 2022, 2023, hearing no objections, the motion is carried,” she added.

The OVP, under Vice President Sara Duterte, faced scrutiny in 2023 when the House was deliberating its budget for 2024, after it was revealed that the office spent P125 million worth of CF in just 11 days in 2022.

READ: How House removed, reduced the confidential funds of gov’t agencies 

What aggravated the lawmakers’ concern was that the CF in 2022 did not exist under the original budget of the OVP, which was crafted when former vice president Leni Robredo was still in office.

READ: OVP’s confidential fund sparks heated debate between Quimbo, Castro anew 

Quimbo, who was defending the OVP budget back then, was being quizzed by Castro about this issue.

READ: Quimbo: OVP’s P125M secret fund in 2022 spent in just 11 days 

Eventually, the House decided to strip civilian agencies, OVP and DepEd included, of its CF requests for the 2024 budget — allocating these instead to agencies securing the West Philippine Sea.