BATASAN HILLS, Quezon City — Following the deferment of the budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), House Majority Leader Manuel Jose ‘Mannix’ Dalipe disclosed that if Vice President ‘Inday’ Sara Duterte-Carpio fails to explain how her office spent millions of pesos of its confidential funds (CF) for 2022, she could face graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Prior to this, the Commission on Audit (CoA) issued a notice of disallowance on ₱73.2 million of OVP’s ₱125-million CF for 2022—an item which several lawmakers noted should not have been available in the first place as the original budget crafted under former Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo did not have such an allocation.

“More than just allegations of mismanagement, she may be held liable for graft for possible violation of the anti-graft laws if she cannot adequately explain and justify the adverse findings, and if the COA does not accept her explanations and justifications,” Dalipe pointed out in an official statement.

“This raises serious questions about the propriety of how these funds were used. The fact that P73 million was flagged means that the public deserves answers. If the Vice President’s office cannot explain or rectify these discrepancies, this could lead to more than just administrative penalties. It could point to criminal liability for graft,” the House majority leader added while urging CoA to “submit its final report (on the issue) to the Office of the Ombudsman and Congress ASAP.”

“(CoA’s) rules should apply to all public officers, regardless of rank. Duterte’s interviews were a mere attempt to divert attention from issues on the budget utilization of the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd), which were discussed by the House committee on appropriations,” he further said.

According to Dalipe, also representative of Zamboanga City’s second congressional district. “it seems the Vice President is pulling out all the stops to shift the spotlight and evade the real issue here—the glaring mismanagement of DepEd funds under her watch, where much-needed classrooms for our children were left unbuilt.”

Duterte and OVP representatives were supposed to attend the House committee on appropriations hearing but neither the vice president nor any representative from her office was present to address the questions raised by several lawmakers. Instead of appearing in the hearing, Duterte sent a letter to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and panel chair Ako Bicol party-list solon Elizaldy Co explaining that they have already submitted the necessary documents to the House panel.