MANILA – The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte will enter its audit phase this week as the House prosecution panel presents Commission on Audit (COA) witnesses to examine the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds received by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said the prosecution will shift its focus from tracing the release and withdrawal of the funds to determining whether they were properly spent and liquidated under government rules.

“The next witnesses will come from the COA. They will explain how the confidential funds were audited and how the liquidation was reviewed. They will also discuss whether the supporting documents complied with the rules governing confidential and intelligence funds,” Acidre said in a news release Sunday.

Former COA state auditor Roderick Wamil and incumbent Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office Supervising Auditor Celine May Del Campo are expected to testify first, followed later in the week by House of Representatives Legislative Information Resources Management Department Director Marivic Pareja.

The prosecution’s presentation follows last week’s testimonies of former Land Bank of the Philippines branch managers Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano, who testified that the confidential funds originated from the National Treasury and were withdrawn entirely in cash by authorized Special Disbursing Officers of the OVP and DepEd.

“Unang-una, napatunayan natin na ang pondo ay galing sa public fund. Pangalawa, napatunayan na ito ay winithdraw (Primarily, it was proven that the fund came from public funds. Secondly, it was proven to have been withdrawn) in cold cash,” Acidre said.

Constantino testified that four Treasury checks worth P125 million each, totaling P500 million, were encashed for the OVP in December 2022 and in February, April and July 2023 by Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta, accompanied by Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio.

Camposano, meanwhile, testified that three Treasury checks worth P37.5 million each, totaling P112.5 million, were encashed for DepEd in February, April and July 2023 by Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.

Article I of the impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of allegedly misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds received by the OVP and DepEd between 2022 and 2023.

Acidre said the prosecution will next present evidence on how the funds were accounted for after they were withdrawn from the bank. The COA witnesses are also expected to discuss the Commission’s directive ordering the return of P73.287 million in confidential funds released to the OVP in 2022.

Separately, House prosecutor and Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the prosecution panel may reduce the number of witnesses it will present for Article I if it determines that the evidence is already sufficient.

Speaking during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, Chua said prosecutors initially identified about 13 witnesses for the article but may not call all of them.

“So kung ma-shorten po namin ‘yung proseso, let’s say after presenting eight or nine witnesses, tingin namin ay solid na solid na, we can move on to the next article,” Chua said.

He stressed that presenting fewer witnesses would not weaken the prosecution’s case.

“Hindi naman po ibig sabihin ‘pag sinabi nating ma-limit [ang number of witnesses], e magsa-suffer ‘yung tibay ng ebidensya,” he said.

Chua, who chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said the prosecution used the same approach in presenting evidence for Article IV of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of threatening President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

“Kagaya po doon sa threat, mga 11 po yata ’yung mga testigo. Pero after presenting three witnesses, napatunayan na namin ’yung purpose na gusto naming makuha. So tumigil na po kami,” he said.

According to Chua, the prosecution intends to present only the witnesses necessary to establish each impeachment article while avoiding unnecessary delays in the proceedings.

“Once na na-meet na namin sa tingin namin matibay na ‘yung ebidensya, at ’yung mga ebidensya ay magdadagdag lamang ng tibay, ayaw naman po natin ng mahabang proseso o hearing,” Chua pointed out.

“As much as possible, gusto natin matapos na itong proseso nang sa ganun ay madesisyunan na kung ano talaga ’yung magiging hatol ng ating mga senador-judges.”

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s 2024 inquiry into the confidential funds previously cited alleged irregularities in their liquidation, including acknowledgment receipts bearing names such as “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Milky Secuya,” and “Kokoy Villamin,” which were alleged to be fictitious. Findings presented during the inquiry also cited Philippine Statistics Authority certifications and National Bureau of Investigation findings indicating that many supposed recipients had no matching birth records, while several signatures on acknowledgment receipts were allegedly written by the same hand, among other questioned liquidation documents.