COA disallows P73M in OVP confidential funds for 2022
MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has disallowed P73 million worth of confidential funds in the 2022 budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
State auditors submitted this finding to the House committee on appropriations, which was cited by House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro during the deliberations of the 2025 proposed budget of the OVP on Tuesday, August 27.
“I have here a report about the notice of disallowance. According to the notice of disallowance, the COA has disallowed P73 million out of P125 million confidential funds used by the OVP in 2022. So, this is 58.63% of the P125 million. So, can you confirm, Vice President?” Castro asked.
Instead of giving a direct answer, Duterte asked House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo to allow her to give a “snide comment” against Castro.
Quimbo was the presiding officer of the House budget deliberations.
“I don’t recall hearing a snide comment, madam Vice President. A snide comment is a matter of judgment,” Quimbo said.
Castro repeated her question, “So madam chair, can you confirm?”
“Yes,” Duterte said, and then she proceeded with bringing up Castro’s child abuse case. In July, a Tagum City court in Davao del Norte convicted Castro, Satur Ocampo, and several others of child abuse in relation to their “rescue” of Lumad students in 2018. The decision is under appeal.
“You do not understand. Why a person convicted of child abuse is then sitting in a seat in the House of Representatives? You allowed her a snide comment and then you will not allow me?” Duterte told Quimbo.
What was the the ND about?
In a notice of disallowance dated August 8, 2024, the COA said that it disallowed the amount of P73,287,000.00 in the P125-million confidential funds disbursed by the OVP in 2022.
State auditors flagged the OVP for “non-submission of documents evidencing the success of information gathering/and or surveillance,” broken down as follows:
- Reward payment: P10,000,000.00
- Payment of Reward (various goods): P34,857,000.00
- Payment of Reward (medicines): P24,930,000.00
COA also flagged the P3.5 million worth of tables, chairs, desktop computers, and printers charged to the confidential funds “without specifying that they were intended for confidential operations.”
An ND basically means that state auditors had disapproved the transaction in question. When a transaction has been disallowed by the COA, the concerned agency must return the funds to the government.
“The auditor shall issue an ND for transactions which are irregular/unnecessary/excessive and extravagant as defined in COA circular No. 85-55A as well as other COA issuances, and those which are illegal and unconscionable,” according to COA 2009 Revised Rules of Procedure.
COA Assistant Commissioner Alexander Juliano said that the ND issued to the OVP is still appealable.
“May nakita pong problem ang auditors. Hindi pa po ito final. May level pa po ‘yan ng appeal. Kung ma-affirm lang po ‘yung notice of disallowance, doon lang po malalaman na tama po ‘yung auditor,” Juliano said.
(The auditors saw a problem. This is not final yet. There is still a level of appeal. If the notice of disallowance is affirmed, only then will it be determined that the auditor was correct.)
Citing a COA audit report, Castro also gave a breakdown of how the P125 million in confidential funds was used by the OVP in 2022.
At least three petitions are pending with the Supreme Court, challenging Duterte’s confidential funds in 2022. – with reports from Jairo Bolledo/Rappler.com