What the auditor found in the OVP’s confidential-fund submissions, what those findings mean, and what prosecutors still have to connect to Sara Duterte personally.
The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has entered the audit records behind the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President.
State auditor Roderick Wamil, who was assigned to the Commission on Audit office that examines confidential and intelligence funds, testified about OVP submissions he reviewed for 2022 and 2023.
He identified reported expenses that he considered outside the allowable uses of confidential funds. He also discussed purchases that lacked the documents or operational details auditors expected, acknowledgment receipts carrying questionable dates and totals that did not match.
The testimony presents serious problems for the OVP, but its limits must also be understood.
An audit deficiency does not automatically prove that a transaction was fictitious. It does not establish by itself that money was stolen or that Duterte personally ordered, knew about or benefited from an improper payment.
The prosecution must prove what happened to the funds and connect the questioned records to Duterte’s own conduct.
Here are five things to know.
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