Sara Duterte confidential funds misuse allegations

Vice President Sara Duterte has been accused of misusing confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was still secretary of the latter body.

Background

Sara Duterte

Sara Duterte is the vice president of President Bongbong Marcos. Dutete was appointed as Marcos' secretary for the Department of Education (DepEd), with Duterte serving from June 30, 2022 until her resignation on July 19, 2024[1] She also cited the government's "mishandling" of the national budget for DepEd as reasons for resignation.[2] As vice president, Duterte also leads the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

Confidential funds

Confidential and intelligence funds are part of the national budget. Their use cannot be made public as it use to fund clandestine activities. Excessive allocations such funds is a risk for graft and corruption. Allocations to civilian agencies draw scrutinity.[3][4]

As per Joint Circular No. 2015-01 the two funds involve:[5]

  • Confidential expenses – related to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies that are intended to support the mandate or operations of the agency.
  • Intelligence expenses – related to intelligence information gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel, and Intelligence Practitioners (IPs) that have direct impact on national security.

For 2024, the Congress strips the DepEd and OVP of confidential funds.[6]

Confidential funds under Sara Duterte
Office Funds received
2022 2023 2024
Department of Education N/a ₱112.5 million ₱0
Office of the Vice President ₱125 million[a] ₱500 million ₱500 million
₱0
Total — ₱125 million ₱0

Source:[4][8]

Allegations

The allocation for the Office of the Vice President has received critical scrutiny since 2023 during the deliberations for the 2024 national budget.[4] The Commission on Audit (COA) disclosed in 2023 that the ₱112 million confidential funds were spent in 11 days which raised suspicions from lawmakers in the House of Representatives.[9]

Duterte in 2025, was alleged to have misused ₱612.5 million worth of confidential funds; ₱500 million from the OVP and ₱112.5 million from DepEd.[10]

Acknowledgement receipts (ARs) barring fictitious names such as "Mary Grace Piattos" in an apparent reference to the chips brand by Universal Robina, Piattos was used to support allegations of irregularities in the usage of the OVP's confidential funds.[11][12][13] Piattos had the largest allocation of funds disbursed by the OVP in December 2022 as stated by Congressman Jay Khonghun in 2025.[14][15] Duterte has refused to explain the background behind the names insisting it would compromise offices involved in intelligence operations.[16] The names issue has also appeared in receipts involving transactions by DepEd during her tenure.[17]

Actions

Impeachment

Main articles: Impeachment of Sara Duterte and 2026 efforts to impeach Sara Duterte

An impeachment complaint, the second out of eventually four complaints, was filed against Sara Duterte on December 19, 2024.[18] The House of Representatives eventually impeached Sara Duterte on February 5, 2026 transmitting the fourth impeachment complaint to the Senate. The second articles of impeachment cites her alleged misuse of OVP and DepEd confidential funds citing ₱254.9 million of "ghost expenses".[19] Duterte was not removed as vice president as the trial was shortly aborted after the Senate convened as a trial court in June 2025 and remand the articles of impeachment back to the lower house.[20] The Supreme Court ruled in July 2025 that the impeachment complaint as unconstitutional for violating the "one year-bar rule" which was triggerred by the first three impeachment cases.[21]

The renewed efforts to impeach Sara Duterte again for the second time in 2026 after the lapse of the one year-bar provision. The complaints also included the confidential funds issue as basis to remove her from office.[22]

Plunder and graft complaint

Apart from the impeachment complaints, Duterte is also facing a criminal lawsuit over her confidential funds issue. In December 2025, plunder and graft charges were filed against Duterte and 15 others before the Ombudsman. This also covers her alleged misuse of confidential funds. The complainants were accompanied by former finance secretary Cielo Magno, as well as Catholic priests Flavie Villanueva and Robert Reyes.[23] In January 2026, former senator Sonny Trillanes and the group The Silent Majority (TSM) filed another complaint against Duterte.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ From the ₱221.424 million requested by the OVP and approved by the Office of the President.[7]

References

  1. ^ Mangaluz, Jean (June 19, 2024). "Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary, says Palace". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  2. ^ Chi, Cristina (September 3, 2022). "DepEd in the dark on how VP Sara spent confidential funds". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  3. ^ Dela Peña, Kurt (November 25, 2022). "Top secret: Why confidential, intelligence funds in 2023 budget draw suspicions". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Dela Peña, Kurt (September 29, 2023). "Twists and turns of justifying secret OVP funds find murky legal basis in budget law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  5. ^ "COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2015-01" (PDF). Commission on Audit, Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Governance Commission for GOCCs, Department of National Defense. January 8, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2026 – via Department of the Interior and Local Government.
  6. ^ Panti, Llanesca (October 10, 2023). "House strips OVP, four other agencies of confidential funds". GMA News. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  7. ^ Cruz, RG (August 30, 2023). "Palace approved Duterte office's P125-M confidential funds in 2022: DBM records". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Dela Peña, Kurt (December 10, 2024). "VP Duterte's use of public funds triggers search for truth". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  9. ^ Crisostomo, Sheila (September 26, 2023). "OVP spent P125 million confidential funds in 11 days". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  10. ^ Laqui, Ian (December 12, 2025). "Groups file plunder case vs Sara Duterte over P612-M confidential funds". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  11. ^ "Where in the world is Mary Grace Piattos?". Rappler. November 19, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  12. ^ Subingsubing, Krixia (December 4, 2024). "'Mary Grace Piattos' does not exist, PSA confirms". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  13. ^ Andrade, Jeannette (March 7, 2025). "Piattos' kin, 'Xiaome Ocho' also got VP Sara Duterte's funds – Ortega". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  14. ^ Cariaso, Bella (February 4, 2025). "VP to identify 'Piattos' if impeach trial proceeds". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  15. ^ Sarao, Zacarian (February 5, 2026). "Sara Duterte camp: No plan to present 'Piattos' in impeach proceedings". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  16. ^ Chi, Cristina (December 11, 2025). "Sara Duterte won't explain why 'Piattos,' 'Chippy' received confidential funds". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  17. ^ Cabato, Luisa (March 24, 2025). "VP Sara Duterte told: Explain odd names on DepEd secret fund receipts". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  18. ^ "Timeline: Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment". Cebu Daily News. February 7, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  19. ^ Flores, Dominique Nicole (February 6, 2025). "The allegations against VP Sara Duterte in impeachment proceedings". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  20. ^ Abarca, Charie (June 10, 2025). "Impeachment court sends Sara Duterte case back to House". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  21. ^ Flores, Dominique Nicole; Laqui, Ian. "'Unconstitutional': Supreme Court bars impeachment vs VP Sara Duterte". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  22. ^ Ombay, Giselle (February 5, 2026). "'Mary Grace Piattos' will not be part of Sara Duterte's defense —lawyer". GMA News Online. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  23. ^ Panti, Llanesca (December 12, 2025). "Plunder, graft raps filed vs Sara Duterte over P612.5-M confi funds". GMA News. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  24. ^ Bolledo, Jairo (January 21, 2026). "Sara Duterte faces new set of plunder, graft complaints over confidential funds". Rappler. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.