Rowegie Abanto

Philippine Army Col. Magtanggol Panopio testifies during the 20th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Panopio testified on the certification issued to the Department of Education, which was submitted to the Commission on Audit to justify the agency's liquidation of its 2023 confidential funds used for several youth leadership summits and information campaigns.

Philippine Army Col. Magtanggol Panopio testifies during the 20th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Panopio testified on the certification issued to the Department of Education, which was submitted to the Commission on Audit to justify the agency's liquidation of its 2023 confidential funds used for several youth leadership summits and information campaigns.

Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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VP Sara Impeachment

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178825109460620260901-vp-sara-impeachment-day-20-panopio-MT12.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Philippine Army Col. Magtanggol Panopio testifies during the 20th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate in Pasay City on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA — A prosecution witness on Tuesday said he believes his certification issued to the Department of Education will not be enough to support a confidential fund expense by the agency.</div>Tuesday&#x27;s Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte centered on the alleged irregular liquidation of the portion of the P112.5 million in confidential funds of the DepEd, which she led from 2022-2024.The prosecution alleged that the DepEd under Duterte &quot;misrepresented&quot; certifications issued by military officers in 2023 to back documents submitted to the Commission on Audit to justify its P15.54 million in alleged confidential-fund rewards.The certifications indicate that a specific Philippine Army division collaborated with the DepEd and other agencies for the conduct of Youth Leadership Summits and Information Education Campaigns in 2023.Army officer Col. Magtanggol Panopio, the second prosecution witness on Tuesday, was asked by Senator-judge Joel Villanueva whether his certification issued in Dec. 5, 2023, would not suffice to back the DepEd confidential fund expense.&quot;Yes, it will not suffice, Your Honor,&quot; Panopio said.The Philippine Army conducted the eight Youth Leadership Summits and 53 Information Education Campaign activities from January to December 2023, which were aimed at preventing the youth from being recruited by extremist groups.Lead defense counsel Sison, during discussion on possible stipulations in the proceeding, said a certification by Panopio stated that &quot;the identification of the areas … where these summits are to be conducted was made possible through the information we primarily got from the DepEd.&quot;The certification, Sison added, &quot;was also issued for whatever legal purpose it may serve.&quot;The top defense lawyer noted that while they could agree with the prosecution that there was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/9/1/army-officer-says-no-confi-funds-provided-for-youth-leadership-summits-1343">no &quot;agency-to-agency&quot; transfer of confidential funds</a> from the DepEd to the Philippine Army, she said they would &quot;never stipulate that there were no confidential information or intelligence information shared by the DepEd&quot; to the military.Panopio earlier in the hearing testified that he was surprised when he learned from a 2024 House hearing that his certification was used by the DepEd to back its expense for the rewards.He explained that their certifications for the youth summits did not certify &quot;anything about money or funds,&quot; adding that the documents only prove that the activities were successfully done in their area of operation.Panopio issued the certification for youth summits conducted within the jurisdiction of the 7th Infantry Division.Duterte is fighting allegations of misuse, misappropriation and irregular liquidation 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 has denied the allegations.<div>WATCH:</div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ec-lQH6pFrI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

A prosecution witness on Tuesday said he believes his certification issued to the Department of Education will not be enough to support a confidential fund expense by the agency.

A prosecution witness on Tuesday said he believes his certification issued to the Department of Education will not be enough to support a confidential fund expense by the agency.

Witness says his certification 'will not suffice' for confi funds liquidation

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Witness says his certification 'will not suffice' for confi funds liquidation

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 01, 2026 04:32 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Impeachment Trial

Senate Trial

Sara Duterte Trial

Senate

Impeachment

Magtanggol Panopio

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