By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — The prosecution in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial is closing in on the end of its case over the alleged misuse of confidential funds, with lawmakers expecting to complete their presentation of evidence as early as next week.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, a public prosecutor and lead prosecutor for Article I, said Tuesday that only about three or four witnesses could remain after the testimony of lawyer Michael Poa, a former Department of Education undersecretary during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.
Among those being considered are a representative of the Philippine Statistics Authority, former Education Assistant Secretary Edward Fajarda and one or two additional witnesses.
“Well, what remains of our witnesses, should we be able to present PSA, is Mr. Edward Fajarda and probably one or at most, two more witnesses,” Chua said.
The prosecution will finalize its remaining witnesses as it prepares to close its case on Article I, which centers on allegations surrounding the use of confidential funds by Duterte’s offices.
“In any event, we can say that by next week, we can hopefully finalize the confidential fund (issue) and we will move on to the next article,” Chua said.
The allegations stem largely from the House investigation into the use of ₱500 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023, along with ₱112.5 million allocated to the Department of Education during the first three quarters of 2023.
The prosecution has presented witnesses from the Land Bank of the Philippines, Commission on Audit and the Office of the Vice President, as well as Philippine Army officials, in an effort to establish how the confidential funds were withdrawn, disbursed and accounted for.
Army Col. Maranos Boransing II and Col. Magtanggol Panopio testified that Duterte’s offices did not provide regular funds or confidential funds for the Army’s Youth Leadership Summit and Information Education Communication programs.
The Army programs, which were funded through its own annual budget, were intended in part to counter communist recruitment among students.
The testimony became significant after the Commission on Audit flagged ₱15.54 million in DepEd confidential expenditures. DepEd had cited certifications from Army officials as part of its justification for the expenses.
Chua said the prosecution considers the issue involving the Youth Leadership Summit sufficiently addressed.
“Yes, insofar as the Youth Leadership Summit is concerned and the certifications they issued, we are (satisfied),” he said.
Panopio, however, told the impeachment court that he was shocked to discover that his certification had been used by DepEd to support its confidential fund expenditures. He said he first learned about the matter during a House committee hearing on Oct. 17, 2024.
Boransing and Panopio were the eighth and ninth witnesses presented by prosecutors for Article I.
Earlier, Land Bank officials testified on the withdrawal of confidential funds by the OVP and DepEd, while COA auditors discussed their examination of the expenditures.
Former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta also testified that she released confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group despite knowing that he was not a bonded officer.
Acosta previously told the House investigation that the release of the funds to Lachica was made on Duterte’s instructions.
Prosecution races toward December verdict
With Article I nearing completion, Chua said prosecutors are still working toward their broader target of finishing their presentation of evidence by October.
That would allow the defense to begin presenting its own evidence afterward and potentially clear the way for the Senate impeachment court to rule before the end of the year.
“Of course we do not want this to reach next year, so hopefully by November, we will be done, so by December we can have the decision of the impeachment court whether or not to convict the Vice President,” Chua said.
For now, the prosecution’s immediate objective is to close the confidential fund case and move to the next article, bringing the impeachment trial another step closer to a potentially decisive final stretch.
ia/xf
