With one day having been canceled this week due to heavy rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).
On Tuesday, August 11, the Impeachment Trial of Vice President Sara Duterte resumed a day after the scheduled proceedings on Monday was canceled by the Court amid inclement weather.
On the fourteenth day of the trial, Commission on Audit (COA) Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office auditor Xylene Mae del Campo was back on the witness stand after previously being introduced by the Panel of Prosecutors during the prior proceeding.
Off the bat, Counsel for the Panel of Prosecutors, Atty. Lorna Kapunan, raised that the other side, the Counsel of the Respondent, did not reply when they asked to meet to compare documents.
Kapunan said that the other side noted that the other camp told them that what the court had stated was to only decide on a time and date, which she said was “bad faith.”
In response, the Defense Counsel, represented by Atty. Kristine Ferrer, told that the authenticity of the exhibits is something that the court will have to decide.
“And the court will only decide on that after the prosecution has already submitted their offer of evidence and that will be subject to our comment,” she furthered.
Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero then quipped that the Prosecution was “ghosted,” before odering the Defense to submit its pre-marked evidence to the court so the comparison could proceed.
Meanwhile, as regard to the witness, she is an officer of the commission since 2014 and evaluate the response of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on the Notice of Suspension regarding the period December 21-31, 2022; the OVP’s response on the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) and the Department of Education’s response to the two AOMs in for the first to third quarter of 2023.
Del Campo noted that several activities listed by the OVP in its liquidation reports such as tree planting, wheelchair distribution, and Christmas parties are not allowable uses of confidential funds under Joint Circular No. 2015-01.
The witness also confirmed that she drafted a notice of disallowance for PHP73,287,000 that was used to pay rewards, as well as tables, chairs, desktop computers, and printers—which were not supported by sales invoices or official receipts as required.
The COA issued the said notice, which the OVP appealed and submitted a review. That was later affirmed by the Commission, with a motion for reconsideration from the OVP currently pending.
Another highlight of the day was the presentation of personalities listed in the acknowledgement receipts that included names that curiously had surnames like Piatos, Pampano, Kamote, Keso to even those similar to the Senators like Hontiveros, Lapid, Revilla, and even Ongpauco.
Meanwhile, after the House Budget Hearing conducted by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability in 2024, the COA officer also said she drafted another Notice of Disallowance amounting to PHP375 million for the first three quarters of 2023.
Specifically for the payment of rewards of PHP62 million that was not supported by documents on the success of information gathering; PHP199 million used to purchase supplies and provision of medical and food aid; and the purchase of information paid before the release of cash advance, based on the acknowledgement receipts for the third quarter.
She also recalled that the COA-ICFAO issued AOM to the Department of Education based on grounds such as he liquidation documents lacking documents supporting that a payment was made; payment of rewards were not supported by documents proving their success; the physical and financial plan did not include any specific confidential activities; disbursement voucher did not specify the specific period of implementation of confidential activities; the use od confidential funds for the purchase of information regarding a car loan scam that victimized DepEd personnel.
On the fifteenth day, the Defense’s cross-examination took place. Then, they confronted the witness with a number of documents such a letter of certification from Col. Raymund Dante Lachica of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, who detailed the surveillance and information gathering activities.
Del Campo, however, noted it did not pass the evaluation on the success of the activities.
An highlight of Wednesday’s proceedings was a momentary clash between Kapunan and Ferrer, with the latter objecting that the line of questioning done by the Defense Counsel being “misleading” and are thereby not allowed in cross-examination.
However, Ferrer earned reactions from other lawyers inside the room when she responded with: “They are allowed.”
Throughout the rest of the day, the Defense scrutinized the documents, along with the redirect examination by the Prosecution and recross examination by the Defense, as well as questions from Senator-Judges.
Meanwhile, Senator Escudero noted that one side has been violating Rule 18 of the impeachment rules, with a formal ruling to be issued on August 17.
Defense lead counsel Atty. Sheila Sison also filed a manifestation calling out a Facebook post by private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan amid the proceedings.
Marivic Pareja, Gina Acosta, Edward Fajarda, and OVP Assistant Secretary/ Assistant Chief of Staff Atty. Lemuel Ortonio were subpoenaed by the Impeachment Court for next week.
