By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — The defense of Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday rejected claims of irregularity in the use of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) certifications to support the liquidation of confidential funds at the Department of Education, even as military witnesses told the Senate impeachment court that the documents did not certify any DepEd spending.
Atty. Justin Nicol Gular, deputy spokesperson of Duterte’s defense team, said there was “no irregularity” in the issuance of the AFP certifications used by DepEd in its response to a Commission on Audit (COA) finding involving confidential fund expenditures.
Gular stressed, however, that the defense was not asking the court to accept its interpretation of the documents as conclusive evidence.
“The senator-judges are free to determine the probative weight of the document as they deem fit,” he said.
The defense position came after two Philippine Army officers testified that their certifications were intended only to establish that military-led activities had taken place—not to confirm that DepEd confidential funds had financed them.
Retired Army Col. Manaros Boransing II, who issued one of the certifications covering Youth Leadership Summits and information campaigns conducted within the 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division’s area of operations, said he had no personal knowledge of DepEd’s use of regular or confidential funds for the activities.
Asked by Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros whether his certification could serve as proof that DepEd properly disbursed its confidential funds, Boransing answered: “No, Maam.”
He said the certification merely documented DepEd’s and other stakeholders’ participation in the military activities.
Boransing further testified that no DepEd funds—confidential or otherwise—were transferred to his division for the programs. The Army funded its own participation, while local governments and other participating agencies shouldered their respective expenses.
That testimony directly challenged the evidentiary value of the certification that DepEd submitted to COA in connection with P15.54 million in reported confidential-fund rewards.
The second military witness, Col. Magtangol Panopio, delivered a similar account.
Panopio said he was surprised to discover during a 2024 congressional inquiry that his certification had been used in connection with DepEd’s liquidation of confidential-fund expenditures.
“Medyo nagulat po kami kasi ’yung aming certification is only for the certification that we conducted the Youth Leadership Summit. Hindi po namin sine-certify anything about money or funds, Your Honor,” Panopio told the impeachment court.
The certification, he said, only established that the Army conducted the Youth Leadership Summit in its area of operations.
When asked whether it supported DepEd’s spending of confidential funds, Panopio was categorical: it did not.
The testimony is significant because the certifications became part of DepEd’s documentary response after COA questioned its handling of confidential funds under Duterte, who was education secretary in 2023.
The prosecution has argued that the certifications were used to help account for P15.54 million allegedly paid as rewards, despite the military officers saying their units received no corresponding DepEd funds for the activities cited in the documents.
The House prosecution has characterized the episode as evidence of a questionable effort to connect legitimate AFP programs with DepEd’s confidential-fund liquidation.
Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a prosecution spokesperson, said the certifications proved only that the military activities occurred and that stakeholders participated. They did not establish that confidential-fund rewards were paid during those activities or that the payments produced the intelligence results claimed by DepEd.
Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre likewise described the documents as part of what he called an “unusual” pattern in the handling of Duterte’s confidential funds—from their release and encashment to their recipients and, eventually, the documents submitted to account for the money.
The defense, however, maintains that the mere use of the AFP certifications does not establish wrongdoing by Duterte.
The evidentiary dispute is now squarely before the Senate impeachment court: whether certifications documenting the conduct of legitimate military activities can reasonably support the liquidation of millions of pesos in confidential-fund rewards when the military officers who issued them say they did not certify any DepEd expenditure.
The issue is expected to gain further scrutiny when former DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa, now part of Duterte’s defense team, takes the witness stand as a prosecution witness on Wednesday.
Poa previously acknowledged that he asked then-DepEd Undersecretary and retired Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin to obtain military certifications after COA sought documentary support for the agency’s confidential-fund expenditures.
With Poa set to testify, the impeachment court is poised to examine not merely whether the AFP activities occurred, but why their certifications were obtained, how they were subsequently used, and whether they could legitimately account for the confidential funds they were presented to support.
ia/xf
