Rowegie Abanto

Vice President Sara Duterte announces her intention to run for the presidency in the 2028 national elections during a press conference at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News




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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17865332020981786533199881.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Commission on Audit is studying the possibility of conducting a fraud audit into the confidential expenses of Vice President Sara Duterte, a state auditor said Wednesday.</p><p>During the interpellation of Senator-judge Bam Aquino on Day 15 of Duterte&#x27;s impeachment trial, prosecution witness Xylene Mae Del Campo said she did not see the use of odd names in the documents submitted by the Office of the Vice President backing its confidential expenses as a red flag because they &quot;presume regularity.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/12/-fictitious-no-coa-findings-on-funny-names-in-confidential-fund-receipts-says-auditor-1620">&#x27;Fictitious?&#x27;: No COA findings on ‘funny names&#x27; in confidential fund documents, says auditor</a></div><p>Del Campo explained that the supporting documents had a certification from the special disbursing officer saying the funds were used for necessary confidential operations.</p><p>Aquino said that some of his office&#x27;s lawyers consulted former Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza about the use of aliases in the confidential fund documents. Mendoza, according to Aquino, said the use of bizarre names could trigger an investigation because of possible fraud.</p><p>The senator-judge asked Del Campo whether the agency was already discussing launching a fraud audit into the vice president&#x27;s multimillion-peso confidential expenditures.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yung sa fraud audit, yung possibility, pinag-aaralan pa kasi kung magfo-fraud audit, this is the first time,&quot; she told Aquino.</p><p>Among the considerations for fraud audit, Del Campo continued, is the risk of OVP and Department of Education documents &quot;with sensitive information&quot; being &quot;exposed&quot; to other offices.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/12/tension-giggles-in-senate-court-as-counsels-spar-in-cross-1341">&#x27;I&#x27;m still very much alive&#x27;: Tension, giggles in Senate court as defense, prosecution counsels spar in cross-examination</a></div><p>When pressed by Aquino, Del Campo again said COA has yet to conduct a fraud audit and that the possible action is being studied with the agency&#x27;s chairperson, lawyer Gamaliel Cordoba.</p><p>Del Campo is a state auditor at the COA-Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office who took over the audits of the OVP and the DepEd confidential funds.</p><p>She also noted that Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which sets rules for release, use, reporting and audit of confidential and intelligence funds, was &quot;silent&quot; on the use of aliases in supporting documents.</p><p>&quot;Ang binabantayan dito is dapat naibigay po ito sa totoong tao, nagamit sa tamang confidential expense,&quot; she stressed.</p><p>Duterte is facing allegations of misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation of confidential funds totaling P612.5 million. The vice president and her lawyers have denied the accusations.</p><p>In an <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.coa.gov.ph/commissioner-pondoc-sheds-light-on-coas-conduct-of-fraud-audit/">article</a> posted on the COA website, former COA commissioner Roland Café Pondoc said that anyone with knowledge about alleged fraud involving public funds may file for a request for fraud audit.</p><p>In case fraud audit is warranted, a Special Audit Team will be created to investigate the allegations of fraud, the COA article noted.</p><p>&quot;In the conduct of fraud audit, the Fraud Audit Reports always end up being referred to the investigating bodies, usually to the Office of the Ombudsman for the filing of cases against the persons held liable,&quot; Pondoc said in the news release.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/11/grave-threats-complaint-filed-vs-vp-sara-duterte-before-qc-court-doj-1619">Grave threats complaint filed vs. VP Sara Duterte before QC court—DOJ</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O2ZJkT7JK90?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The Commission on Audit is studying the possibility of conducting a fraud audit into the confidential expenses of Vice President Sara Duterte, a state auditor said Wednesday.</p>

The Commission on Audit is studying the possibility of conducting a fraud audit into the confidential expenses of Vice President Sara Duterte, a state auditor said Wednesday.

COA studying possibility of fraud audit into VP Duterte confidential expenses, auditor says

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COA studying possibility of fraud audit into VP Duterte confidential expenses, auditor says

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 12, 2026 07:29 PM PHT

|

Updated August 12, 2026 07:42 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Impeachment Trial

Senate Trial

Sara Duterte Trial

Senate

Impeachment

Bam Aquino

Xylene Mae Del Campo

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