MANILA—Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre on Tuesday said an “unusual” pattern has surfaced in the handling of confidential funds under Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, citing questions surrounding how the funds were requested, released, received and later accounted for.

Acidre made the statement following the testimony of Col. Manaros Boransing II regarding a military certification that the Department of Education (DepEd) submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA) to address an observation on its confidential fund expenditures.

“Over the past weeks, nakita natin ’yung unusual request, unusual encashment, unusual recipients, and now we have unusual liquidation documents,” Acidre said at a press briefing during a break in the 20th day of Duterte’s impeachment trial.

The House prosecution is presenting evidence involving P612.5 million in confidential funds released to offices headed by Duterte when she served as vice president and education secretary.

Of the amount, P500 million was released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022 and 2023, while P112.5 million was released to DepEd during the first three quarters of 2023.

Previous prosecution witnesses testified about the request, release and encashment of four P125-million OVP tranches, as well as the subsequent turnover of the funds by then-special disbursing officer Gina Acosta to security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica upon Duterte’s instruction.

The prosecution has also presented audit records and other documents questioning the identities of alleged confidential fund recipients and how the expenditures were liquidated.

Boransing’s testimony centered on a certification issued by the Army’s 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division covering eight Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) and 53 information education communication (IEC) activities.

He testified that the military unit did not receive any DepEd funds, including confidential funds, for the activities covered by the Jan. 1, 2024 certification.

DepEd later submitted the certification to COA in response to an audit observation seeking documents showing accomplishments related to P15.54 million in confidential funds reportedly spent as rewards.

Boransing said he understood the document to be a certification routinely issued to agencies and other stakeholders that participate in military activities.

He also testified that he only learned during a House investigation on Oct. 17, 2024 that the certification had been submitted to COA in relation to the audit observation.

Acidre questioned whether the certification could establish how DepEd’s confidential funds were actually spent, noting that the military itself did not receive any of the funds.

“Ang isang certificate na dapat ay hindi naman ibig sabihin nagkaroon ng direct expense ang Office of the Secretary of Education ay ginamit bilang ebidensya ng liquidation,” he said.

The lawmaker said the document did not resolve questions on whether it was adequate proof for liquidation, whether the purported informants were actually paid, and whether the confidential funds were properly used.

“Kung ako pong tatanungin, at base po sa naging testimonya ni Col. Boransing, mukhang hindi po ang sagot sa tatlong katanungan na iyon,” he said.

Acidre said the circumstances surrounding the certification should be considered alongside the prosecution’s earlier evidence on the movement and liquidation of Duterte’s confidential funds.

“To justify a lie, you have to lie even more,” Acidre said.

“Para po talagang matabunan ang isang pagsisinungaling, kailangan mo pang magsinungaling. At mukhang ’yan po ang napatunayan sa pagsasalaysay po ni Col. Boransing,” he added.

He emphasized that confidential funds remain public funds and that their classification does not remove the accountability of officials entrusted with them.

“Remember, these are public funds that we are talking about. Kahit ito po ay confidential in nature, ’yung paggamit, it does not erase the accountability of the officers to which the money was entrusted,” he said.

The alleged misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of Duterte’s confidential funds are among the allegations under Article I of the Articles of Impeachment against her.