Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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Rowegie Abanto

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/178581777471820260804-senate-impeachment-day12-roderick-wamil-MT14 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Former Commission on Audit (COA) state auditor Roderick Wamil continues his testimony before the Impeachment Court during the 12th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.<em> Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — A witness presented by the prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday flagged several &quot;violations&quot; in the utilization of the Office of the Vice President&#x27;s confidential funds.</p><p>Duterte is facing allegations of &quot;systematic misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation&quot; of confidential funds totaling P612.5 million, of which P500 million was for OVP and P112.5 million for the Department of Education, which she headed from 2022-2024. She and her lawyers have denied the accusations.</p><p>Roderick Wamil, who used to be assigned to the Commission on Audit&#x27;s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, returned for a second day at the trial where he offered his observations to the accomplishment reports of the OVP concerning its multimillion-peso confidential funds for the first three quarters of 2023.</p><p>The OVP&#x27;s accomplishment report for the first quarter of 2023 for its confidential fund use had two items that were not on the list of &quot;allowable&quot; confidential expenses under Joint Circular No. 2015-01, said Wamil, also a lawyer who is now auditing leader at the COA&#x27;s Pasay City office.</p><p>The joint circular, crafted by five agencies, including the COA and the Department of Budget and Management, lays down guidelines for release, use, reporting and audit of confidential and intelligence funds.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/3/wrap-not-all-confidential-spending-can-be-kept-secret-auditor-says-1621">Not all details of confidential spending can be kept secret, auditor says</a></div><div><br/></div><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/17858145160081785814513913.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">List of allowed confidential fund expenses. <em>Screenshot from Joint Circular No. 2015-01 </em></span></span></span></div><div><strong>NOT ALLOWABLE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The first-quarter OVP accomplishment report contained an item for the provision of medical and food aid amounting to P42 million, Wamil said, noting that the office had not attached documents supporting the expenditure.</p><p>A &quot;payment of incentives or travelling relative&quot; to the OVP&#x27;s confidential operations amounting to P10 million was also listed in the report, he said, adding that the expense had no receipts for the item.</p><p>The two aforementioned items were not among the allowable confidential expenses under item 4.8 of the joint circular, Wamil testified.</p><p>Wamil noted that the list of allowed confidential items under 4.8 of the joint circular was &quot;exclusive.&quot; &quot;So kapag hindi kasama doon, hindi puwedeng paggamitan ng kanilang confidential fund,&quot; he said.</p><p>The report also had an item for the payment of a reward, but the OVP did not submit any document that would prove the success of the information gathering or surveillance activities, as required by the joint circular, he said.</p><p>Asked by Lorna Kapunan, counsel for the panel of prosecutors, in her direct examination of the auditor whether the supposed lack of documents was a violation, Wamil replied &quot;yes.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Violation po siya since hindi siya compliant doon sa conditions nung payment of reward, which is dapat mayroon siyang supporting document evidencing the success of the information gathering or surveillance activities on the account of information given by the informer,&quot; he said.</p><p>Meanwhile, the OVP&#x27;s accomplishment report for the second quarter of 2023 for its confidential funds also had line items for medical and food aid, amounting to P40 million, as well as payment for incentive or travel related to the agency&#x27;s confidential operations.</p><p>The expenses were prohibited, he again told Kapunan, because the items were not on the list of exclusive list of allowable confidential expenses stipulated in the joint circular.</p><p>According to the auditor, there was also a line item for the payment of P12-million reward but it was not supported by documents indicating the success of any information gathering or surveillance.</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>Wamil said that the the OVP&#x27;s accomplishment report for the third quarter of 2023 for its confidential funds contained a line item for the payment of a reward worth P35 million, adding that it was &quot;not compliant&quot; for the lack of supporting documents.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DEFENSE OBJECTS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Michael Poa, one of the lawyers for Duterte, objected to Wamil&#x27;s answer to the question on the reward item, arguing that the trial was still in the part where discussions should only center on whether or not there was anything &quot;wrong&quot; with the utilization of the confidential funds &quot;in terms of&quot; the accomplishment reports.</p><p>&quot;He is now going into the findings which is not part and parcel of this form, which is accomplishment report. Indicating the payment of the reward by itself is not a violation of the joint circular,&quot; said Poa.</p><p>Trial presiding officer Francis Escudero sustained Poa&#x27;s objection and noted that the proceedings have yet to tackle the findings of COA&#x27;s Audit Observation Memorandum.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/4/live-updates-vice-president-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-trial-day-12-0945">LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s Impeachment Trial (Day 12)</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH:</strong><br/><strong><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/rIkpGunq2ZA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div>

<p>A witness presented by the prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte flagged several "violations" in the utilization of the Office of the Vice President's confidential funds.</p>

A witness presented by the prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte flagged several "violations" in the utilization of the Office of the Vice President's confidential funds.

Witness flags 'violations' in OVP confidential fund use

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Witness flags 'violations' in OVP confidential fund use

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 04, 2026 12:39 PM PHT

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Updated August 04, 2026 02:33 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Impeachment Trial

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