MANILA — House prosecutors questioned the credibility of documents used to liquidate confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd), saying the distribution of millions of pesos in far-flung areas on the same day would have required a lone special disbursing officer (SDO) to be virtually “Superman.”

Lawyer Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the House prosecution panel, made the remark while questioning Commission on Audit (COA) auditor Xylene Mae Del Campo before the Senate impeachment court.

Kapunan presented several acknowledgment receipts purportedly supporting the liquidation of the DepEd’s confidential funds and noted that payments were recorded in different locations across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao on the same dates.

“Kasi ako, Marvel Comics ang binabasa ko; Superman ang favorite ko. Kung hindi man Superman ang isang SDO, kaya ba niyang puntahan, sa palagay mo, lahat na ito?” Kapunan asked Del Campo.

Defense counsel objected, saying the question was speculative, but Presiding Senator-Judge Francis Escudero did not sustain the objection.

“We get your point, counsel,” Escudero said, noting that it would be “physically impossible” for a lone disbursing officer to make confidential fund payments in far-flung locations on the same day.

Kapunan presented three batches of acknowledgment receipts covering the alleged disbursement of the DepEd’s confidential funds in 2023.

The first batch was dated Feb. 21, 2023, the second Feb. 25, and the third March 15.

Among the receipts presented for Feb. 21 were payments of PHP50,000 in Danao, PHP100,000 in Malolos and PHP45,000 in Negros Occidental, as well as another receipt indicating an address in Negros Oriental.

The Feb. 25 receipts included PHP200,000 in Masbate, PHP100,000 in Laoag City, PHP45,000 in Davao City, an amount in Agusan del Norte, PHP50,000 in Olongapo City, PHP150,000 in Masbate, another PHP45,000 in Davao City and PHP50,000 in Pangasinan.

Del Campo said the documents showed that different amounts were allegedly given to informants in different locations on the same day.

She also testified that Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which governs the use and liquidation of confidential and intelligence funds, authorizes only the duly designated SDO or agency head to distribute such funds.

In the DepEd’s case, Del Campo said then-Education Secretary Sara Duterte did not designate another SDO aside from Eduard Fajarda.

She also affirmed that the agency head bears primary responsibility for the proper use of confidential funds.

OVP funds flagged

Del Campo also testified on the COA’s disallowance of PHP73 million out of the PHP125 million in confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022.

She said the disbursements lacked sufficient documentary evidence of payment, proof of successful gathering of confidential information and evidence that supplies were actually purchased for confidential operations.

An audit notice of disallowance is issued when an expenditure is found to be irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable, and orders the concerned agency to return the disallowed amount to government coffers.

Del Campo also said the OVP claimed reimbursement for expenses incurred from Dec. 13 to 18, including Christmas parties, tree planting and thanksgiving activities, even though the office received its PHP125-million confidential fund allocation only on Dec. 21.

For 2023, COA issued a notice of disallowance covering the entire PHP375 million in OVP confidential funds.

Del Campo said the disallowance was partly based on the transfer of SDO Gina Acosta’s authority to distribute the funds to Col. Raymund Lachica of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group.

She cited Joint Circular 2015-01, which states that confidential and intelligence fund cash advances must be drawn by duly designated and bonded SDOs or the agency head and, under no circumstance, transferred from one accountable officer to another.

Del Campo further testified that payments from the OVP’s 2023 confidential funds included amounts allegedly given to individuals identified as Miggy Mango, Jay Kamote and Matthew Keso, among others.

She said the disbursements were not supported by sufficient documentary evidence required under the joint circular.

The COA notice also cited certifications and Protective Intelligence Operations reports that allegedly failed to specify accomplishments demonstrating the success of information-gathering or surveillance activities that would justify reward payments.

The notice identified Duterte and three other OVP officials as accountable for the questioned disbursements.

DepEd first-quarter fund initially cleared

For the DepEd, Del Campo said the agency’s PHP75 million confidential fund disbursement for the first quarter of 2023 was initially found to be in order because COA’s evaluation did not identify an irregularity at that stage.

She clarified, however, that the initial evaluation or issuance of a credit notice could still be revoked if new evidence is discovered within the applicable three-year period.

Del Campo also cited Fajarda’s admission during a previous House inquiry that he transferred his duty of disbursing DepEd confidential funds to Col. Dennis Nolasco, who was part of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group.

The prosecution argued that such a transfer would violate the 2015 joint circular.

House prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said the documents and testimony raise questions about whether the liquidation records accurately reflected the actual movement and use of the confidential funds.

“The issue is not about fiction or imagination. No Superman is needed to understand the improbability of what the records appear to show,” Barbers said.

He stressed that confidential funds remain public funds and must be supported by proper documentation.

“Confidential funds are not exempt from accountability simply because they are confidential,” Barbers said. “They remain public funds. Every peso comes from the taxpayers, and every peso must be supported by proper documentation and accounted for in accordance with the law and COA regulations.”

Meanwhile, defense spokesperson Michael Poa welcomed Del Campo’s testimony that the DepEd’s first-quarter 2023 confidential fund disbursement was initially found to be in order.

Poa also said the COA notice of disallowance covering the OVP’s PHP375 million confidential fund expenditure remains subject to appeal.

The House prosecution team also complained that the defense allegedly failed to attend a meeting ordered by the impeachment court to compare documents related to the confidential funds.

Senator-Judge Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, suggested moving impeachment trial proceedings to the afternoon to give both sides more time to present their arguments, with Senate sessions held in the morning.

Impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol said it is up to the senator-judges to explain their absences from the proceedings to the public.