Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

David Dizon

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/1788743942952HRjqqoOakAADNC4 (2).jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align: left;">The Senate Impeachment Court on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, in the continuing trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over the utilization of the Department of Education&#39;s (DepEd) confidential funds. <em>Wendell D. Alinea, Senate Social Media Unit/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA &mdash; A former Department of Education official who is set to testify on Day 22 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is unlikely to appear today after receiving doctor&rsquo;s instructions to take 30 days of rest.&nbsp;</p><p>Edward Fajarda, a former DepEd special disbursing officer, has been instructed to take a 30-day rest following a stroke on the lower back side of his brain, impeachment prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua said. &nbsp;</p><p>Impeachment prosecutors are set to discuss their options before the start of the trial at 10 a.m.&nbsp;</p><p>Chua said they will also ask the defense to agree to stipulations &ldquo;so there would be no need to bring Fajarda as a witness.&rdquo;</p><p>He said the prosecution is also set to present Philippine Statistics Authority Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande who will testify on PSA findings about the names of alleged recipients of DepEd and OVP confidential funds.</p><p>Other prosecution witnesses include Fajarda&rsquo;s wife DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda, an official from the Philippine National Police Questioned Document Examination Division, and Commission on Audit employee Bresilio Sabaldan.</p><p>Fajarda previously told the House of Representatives that he turned over millions of pesos in confidential funds to Col. Dennis Nolasco upon the instructions of Duterte.</p><p>Former DepEd undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa meanwhile told the impeachment court that he consulted Fajarda about liquidating the funds, following an audit observation memorandum from the Commission on Audit.&nbsp;</p><p>In the interview, Chua also downplayed the Vice President&#39;s remark that she feels &quot;threatened&quot; after a local court issued a warrant for her arrest over the grave threats charge filed against her.</p><p>This, after Duterte said she had talked to someone to kill President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if anything happened to her.&nbsp;</p><p>Chua said it is unlikely that anything untoward would happen to the Vice President despite the animosity between the country&#39;s two top officials.&nbsp;</p><p>He said Duterte did not look threatened and seemed to have stepped out of a beauty parlor when she posted bail last Saturday.</p><div><br></div><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/kUwb4DCJ2pE?&wmode=opaque&rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div>

<p>A former Department of Education official who is set to testify on Day 22 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is unlikely to appear today after receiving doctor’s instructions to take 30 days of rest.</p>

A former Department of Education official who is set to testify on Day 22 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is unlikely to appear today after receiving doctor’s instructions to take 30 days of rest.

Impeach Trial Day 22: DepEd witness needs 30-day rest, PSA exec to testify

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Impeach Trial Day 22: DepEd witness needs 30-day rest, PSA exec to testify

David Dizon,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 07, 2026 09:25 AM PHT

|

Updated September 07, 2026 10:44 AM PHT

Read More:

sara duterte

impeachment

edward fajarda

marissa grande

psa

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