House prosecutors intend to call Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness in her own impeachment trial after presenting evidence on all four allegations they raised against her under the articles of impeachment. “The testimony of the Vice President will be material to all four articles—grave threats, misuse and misappropriation of funds, unexplained wealth, and...
Tag: Office of the Vice President
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Duterte secret fund recipients were minors, dead or missing in PSA records
Beyond odd-sounding names, supposed recipients of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds from her office and the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2023 were recorded as minors, dead, or missing in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The youngest was a 2-month-old baby who died in 1965, or 60 years before supposedly signing acknowledgment receipts (ARs)...
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Witness says he didn’t know Duterte assigned security officer to handle DepEd secret funds
One of Vice President Sara Duterte’s “most trusted” officials acknowledged on Wednesday, Sept. 2, that he was unaware that she had tasked a security officer, Lt. Col. Dennis Nolasco, with handling multimillion-peso confidential funds at the Department of Education (DepEd). Michael Poa, a former education undersecretary and chief of staff, said he learned of Nolasco’s...
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Only Duterte, security aide knew use of secret funds, says witness
Amid allegations of misuse, only Vice President Sara Duterte and her former security aide, Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, knew how her controversial ₱500 million in confidential funds were used, her deputy chief of staff told the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Lemuel Ortonio made the admission at the conclusion of his testimony before...
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Duterte security officer handled secret funds but not cited in documents submitted to COA, says witness
The former special disbursing officer (SDO) at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) admitted on Monday, Aug. 17, that Col. Raymund Dante Lachica was not mentioned in any of the documents submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA) in justifying the disbursement of ₱125 million in confidential funds in December 2022. Gina Acosta made...
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Duterte execs sought COA ‘query’ on secret funds instead of memo, says witness
Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp had tried to persuade the Commission on Audit (COA) not to issue an audit observation memorandum (AOM) during its review of multimillion-peso confidential funds spent by her office and the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2023, according to state auditor Roderick Wamil. Rather than an AOM, Roderick Wamil told the...
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Ex-bank managers say large OVP, DepEd cash withdrawals ‘unusual’
Two former LandBank branch managers found “unusual” the million-peso cash withdrawals by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) between 2022 and 2023 because of the large amounts involved. They said it was the first time they had ever seen these transactions in their banking careers. One of them, Violeta...
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The work of the House justice committee merits public attention
Ramil Madriaga’s allegations were intense, yet Vice President Sara Duterte did not seize the clear and present opportunity to make mincemeat out of them. There was no bloodbath during the daylong hearing of the House justice committee last Tuesday although there was a recurring ritual performed for the record: Madame Chair, the redoubtable Batangas Rep....
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Seismic shift for the Vice President
On Aug. 30, even as social media was still abuzz and aghast at Vice President Sara Duterte’s startling behavior at the budget deliberations in the House of Representatives, she was reported as leading her office’s nationwide distribution of bags under its “Pagbabago” (Change) program. The photograph that accompanied the Philippine News Agency report, taken at...
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How do you solve a problem like Sara Duterte?
She is a PR person’s nightmare at the very least. I can imagine her handlers in a state of wild confusion as they try to do some damage control every time Vice President Sara Duterte utters anything remotely resembling a coherent sentence. She is remembered as the barumbada (sadly, I can’t find a word in English to...