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Claim: The P125 million confidential fund of the Sara Duterte-led Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022 came from the Office of the President (OP).
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post bearing the claim has gained 2,400 reactions, 11 comments, and 1,400 shares as of writing.
“It seems not many know that the 125M CF (confidential funds) of the OVP actually came from the CF of the OP. Meaning, once OP released the 125M to the OVP, the CF of the OP was technically already spent, therefore the liquidation of this 125M in theory should fall with the OP,” the Facebook user said.
“The OP should be the ones to certify the use of the 125M because the presumption is OP knows kung saan gagamitin ng OVP yung 125M (where the OVP will use the P125 million),” she added.
The facts: The P125 million confidential fund released to the OVP in 2022 did not come from the Office of the President’s budget.
Instead, it was sourced from the contingent funds of the 2022 national budget, released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the OVP upon approval of the Office of the President.
On August 22, 2022, around two months after Duterte assumed office as vice president, she wrote a letter to DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman asking for additional funds – P403.46 million for various purposes, including a request for P250 million for confidential expenses.
The DBM, however, only released P125 million for confidential funds and P96 million for financial assistance/subsidy.
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Liquidation: The responsibility for the liquidation of the confidential funds lies with the OVP, not the OP, according to independent public budget analyst Zy-za Suzara.
The OVP’s confidential fund was released through a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO), which the OP approved on December 13, 2022.
“The SARO tells us which agency will implement the project and therefore, which agency is accountable for the liquidation of the funds, and which agency will be audited by COA [Commission on Audit],” Suzara explained in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Budget deliberations: The Facebook post came as Duterte faced Congress for deliberations on her office’s proposed 2025 budget, which resulted in heated and messy debates between Duterte and lawmakers. The Vice President had encountered questions about the use of her confidential funds in 2022, an issue she had previously faced during last year’s budget deliberations. (READ: Sara vs the House: Inside the ugliest live political feud of the Marcos era)
During the deliberations for the proposed 2025 budget, it was revealed that COA issued a notice of disallowance dated August 8, 2024 disallowing P73 million worth of confidential funds disbursed by the OVP in 2022. State auditors flagged the OVP for “non-submission of documents evidencing the success of information gathering/and or surveillance.”
When COA disallows a transaction, the concerned agency must return the funds to the government. The agency can, however, appeal the notice of disallowance all the way to the Supreme Court.
At least three petitions are pending with the Supreme Court, challenging Duterte’s confidential funds in 2022.
Facing controversy: Aside from the confidential funds issue, the OVP is also being questioned over the allotment of P10 million in its budget for the publication of Duterte’s children’s book Isang Kaibigan (A Friend).
In the past two years, the House of Representatives swiftly approved the OVP budget out of parliamentary courtesy. This year, however, the House deferred deliberations on the OVP budget after Duterte’s repeated refusal to answer questions and engaging in a heated exchange with lawmakers.
This came after a public falling-out between the Marcos-Duterte tandem, which campaigned under the UniTeam banner to win the 2022 national elections by a landslide. Duterte resigned from the Marcos Cabinet in June. – James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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