Sara Duterte urged to return flagged funds for oil crisis response

MANILA, Philippines – The Makabayan bloc on Tuesday urged Vice President Sara Duterte to return to government coffers the hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA), saying the money should be redirected to the state’s fund for oil crisis response.

The disallowed confidential funds should be recovered from Duterte’s office and redirected to government programs, including subsidies for the transport sector, as well as bolster funding for social services amid the oil shock triggered by the US-Israeli war with Iran, they said.

“This is funding that should have been used for aid, services and responses to crises – not for so-called ‘confidential’ expenses that lack clear justification and sufficient documentation,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago and Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co said in a joint statement in Filipino.

State auditors have disallowed P375 million in secret spending by the Office of the Vice President in 2023 due to a lack of supporting documents and unjustified expenses. The March audit notice may still be appealed by Duterte and three other officials from her office who were named co-liable for the disallowed spending.

READ: COA disallows P375M in OVP’s secret funds

The flagged 2023 confidential spending, if upheld, could raise the refund order to P443 million, after the audit body earlier affirmed P73.28 million in secret funds spent in 2022 that had also been disallowed.

“We demand the immediate return of all amounts disallowed by COA and the full recovery of public funds from all officials held liable,” the Makabayan bloc said. “Every disallowed peso must be restored to the public coffers and redirected to urgent measures that genuinely respond to the crisis.”

They also said the flagged money already amounts to 73 percent of the entire P612.5 million in confidential funds allotted to Duterte, showing a pattern of abuse involving public spending.

“This staggering rate is not normal; it points to a pattern of abuse and a grave breach of public trust,” the minority bloc said. 

Duterte faces allegations of misuse involving the P612.5 million in confidential funds allotted to her office and the Department of Education during her tenure as its secretary, accusations which have fueled impeachment efforts against her.

READ: Luistro: Duterte-Carpio tax documents next up in impeachment hearing

The minority lawmakers also called for a review of the policy governing the use of confidential funds, urging they be removed from civilian agencies to prevent abuse.

“[It] is structurally prone to abuse because it is designed to operate behind secrecy, weak documentation, and limited public scrutiny,” they said. “The current scandal shows how easily it becomes a shadow budget insulated from transparency and accountability.”

‘Not mere allegations anymore’

In a separate statement on late Monday, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima said the flagged confidential funds are no longer “mere allegations,” stressing that COA already has in file its findings on how the secret budget was disbursed.

“These are not mere allegations but a decision based on COA’s review of actual documents,” she said in Filipino.

“This cannot simply be buried by fake news and disinformation,” she added. “It cannot be brushed aside through evasion or desperate attempts to divert the issue.” /mr