Jamaine Punzalan

Former Commission on Audit (COA) state auditor Roderick Wamil testifies as a prosecution witness before the Senate Impeachment Court at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Monday, August 3, 2026, during the presentation of evidence on Article 1 of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, which alleges the misuse of confidential funds. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

David Dizon

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2p0HcSJAbNo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>MANILA — The alleged misuse of more than half a billion pesos in confidential and intelligence funds takes center stage anew on day 12 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with a former state auditor expected to return to the witness stand. </p><p>Two Land Bank managers earlier testified how hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds were withdrawn from the bank, while former auditor Roderick Wamil testified Monday on discrepancies in the OVP’s liquidation reports and expenditures that did not comply with government rules.</p><p>Atty. Melencio Sta Maria, former dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law, said the “monstrous amount of money” withdrawn in cash from the Land Bank of the Philippines and placed in gym bags “effectively cut off the bank’s fiscal monitoring and auditing control in relation to the released millions of funds.”</p><p>“Basta kinuha mo ang physical cash money, that will be the very moment when the subsequent use of the cash money may become untraceable, creating an environment of possible ghost disbursement and malversation. Proving how the money was spent will entirely be dependent on authentic liquidation-documents that must be produced by the withdrawer,” he said in a Facebook post.</p><p>Speaking to DZMM, Sta. Maria questioned why the OVP failed to submit proper documentation such as sales invoices for purchases of tables, chairs and medicines as well as proof that alleged informants were paid.</p><p>“Nasaan ang mga resibo? Reward, medicine? Paano naging reward yun? Ang involved dito pera ng bayan. Ang paglalatag nito dapat metikuloso,” Sta. Maria said in a DZMM interview. </p><p>The former law dean cited several “badges of irregularity” in the use of the OVP’s confidential funds, including incomplete documentation, failure to justify the grant of rewards to alleged informants, and how P125 million in funds were spent in just 11 days.</p><p>“Kung mali ang paliwanag o mali ang binigay na documentation tulad ng invoice, parang di ka na rin nagpaliwanag,” he said, adding this could be a violation of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code. </p><p>Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said Monday the explanation on the Office of the Vice President&#x27;s use of its P125-million confidential funds in 11 days would emerge in the next days of the trial. </p><p>He also explained why the defense did not just stipulate to the thousands of documents of the prosecution.</p><p>“Sa atin yung 11 days kasi, may mga explanation yan. May maaari tayong gawin na cross diyan so, hindi pa muna tayo pumayag sa stipulation, but as to the other documents such as yung mga sinumbit sa COA…hindi na natin dini-dispute yun,” Poa said.</p><p>“We cannot stipulate based on 3,000, 4,000 documents, kung puwede lang mag-stipulate naman. Wala kaming sinasabing pineke or something…pero ang sinasabi natin is hindi natin alam. So ayaw nating mag-stipulate sa ganon karaming dokumento…since yung nature nga niya is yung acknowledgement receipts,” he added.<strong><br/></strong></p><p>Meanwhile, impeachment adviser and House prosecution team spokesman Robert Ace Barbers questioned the use of confidential funds for various purchases including chairs, table, computers, printers and even groceries. The OVP also charged P40 million for medical and food aid and P10 million for incentives and travel to its confidential funds, which are not legitimate expenses for the same.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/3/ex-state-auditor-finds-non-allowable-expenses-in-ovp-confidential-funds-report-1311">Ex-state auditor finds non-allowable expenses in OVP confidential funds report </a></div><p>Barbers noted that confidential funds spent in the last quarter of 2022 were not liquidated until almost a year later. </p><p>“It took them almost one year bago nila na-submit ang requirements under the COA rules of auditing and accounting procedure. So parang may irregular doon because you don&#x27;t liquidate and submit the justification ng ganung katagal…Hindi kasi pasok yung pecha noong kanilang justification doon sa period na ginamit nila yung pondo,” he said.</p><p>Barbers also questioned the lack of transparency on how the OVP gave away reward money to alleged informants who were hidden behind pseudonyms such as Mary Grace Piattos.</p><p>“Ang operation na nakasaad sa kanilang plano, confidential talaga yan. This may involve national security o hindi kaya delikado para sa buhay ng mga taong magbibigay ng information sa atin. Pero hindi confidential ang sinasabing accountability. Kasi dapat every centavo, bawat pisong ginastos mo dyan may kaakibat yan na justification,” he said.</p><p>He added: “Kanina nagulat tayo na si Mary Grace Piattos pala ay P70,000 ang tinanggap. Akala ng marami, ang tinanggap ni Mary Grace Piattos ay maliit lang na amount pero napakalaki nito. Meron pang isang Piatos, Renan Piattos. Marami pang mga names na nabanggit na dapat mabusisi ng gusto. Iba-iba ang flavor at anong Piattos kasi.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/3/ovp-payment-to-mary-grace-piattos-raised-in-senate-trial-1556">OVP receipt for &#x27;Mary Grace Piattos&#x27; reaches Senate trial</a></div><p>“Actually, kung titingnan natin mabuti itong issue tungkol sa confidential funds o paggamit itong pondong ito, isang malaking scam. Ang tawag nga dito dapat confidential funds scam kung saan P600 million ang hindi klaro kung saan napunta, saan ginamit ng isang opisina, isang head ng agency.”</p><p>The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier said it found <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/14/psa-reiterates-it-has-no-records-of-mary-grace-piattos-kokoy-villamin-2046">no birth, marriage or death records for a person named &quot;Mary Grace Piattos.&quot;</a> Duterte&#x27;s camp, however, has maintained that the name could have been a pseudonym.</p><p> Poa said Monday he did not know the identity of Mary Grace Piattos and did not want to speculate on her possible relation to Renan Piattos.</p><p>“Factual lang din naman yung nangyari kanina. Lumalabas lang naman din yung naging COA findings, we&#x27;ll stick with what COA knows,” said Poa.</p><p>He added that the use of aliases could be tackled in future trial hearings but said that he did not want to preempt whatever the prosecution would present before the impeachment court.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hDwZYeAbcmY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The alleged misuse of more than half a billion pesos in confidential and intelligence funds takes center stage anew on day 12 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with a former state auditor expected to return to the witness stand.</p>

The alleged misuse of more than half a billion pesos in confidential and intelligence funds takes center stage anew on day 12 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with a former state auditor expected to return to the witness stand.

Impeach trial Day 12: Confidential funds 'misuse' to take center stage anew

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Impeach trial Day 12: Confidential funds 'misuse' to take center stage anew

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 04, 2026 09:41 AM PHT

|

Updated August 04, 2026 10:01 AM PHT

Read More:

impeachment

sara duterte

robert ace barbers

melencio sta maria

confidential funds

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