Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 4) – The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to respond to a petition to declare as unconstitutional the transfer of ₱125 million in confidential funds to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022.
READ: The Supreme Court has ordered VP Sara Duterte, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to respond to a petition asking the high court to declare as unconstitutional the transfer of ₱125 million in confidential funds to the Office of the… pic.twitter.com/Wdy3Dsut5K
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) December 4, 2023
The petition filed by a group of lawyers, constitutional experts, and economists in November also asked the high court to order Duterte to return her secret funds to the treasury.
Among the 11 petitioners were former vice-presidential spokesperson and lawyer Barry Gutierrez, 1987 Constitution framer Christian Monsod, former Commission on Elections Commissioner Augusto Lagman, and former Department of Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno.
READ: Petitioners ask SC to declare ₱125-M transfer for OVP’s confidential funds unconstitutional
The SC’s resolution, dated Nov. 14 but made public on Dec. 4, ordered Duterte and her co-respondents to comment on the petition within 10 days of notice.
The petitioners argued that the transfer of ₱125 million from the Office of the President to the OVP “for an inexistent Confidential Fund,” as confirmed by the Commission on Audit (COA), was a “clear usurpation of the legislative power of the Congress of the Philippines.”
They said the “unconstitutional” transaction was done in such a way as to avoid fiscal audit and scrutiny.
The Department of Budget and Management earlier said the transfer of funds did not bypass the power of Congress as the release supposedly came from a ₱7 billion contingent fund to support the OVP’s “Good Governance Engagements and Social Services Projects.”
During the COA’s budget deliberations in the House last September, it was revealed that the OVP spent all ₱125 million of its secret funds in just 11 days.
READ: Quimbo: OVP’s ₱125-M confidential funds spent in just 11 days, not 19
Duterte defended her agencies’ use of confidential funds, claiming that ensuring peace and order in the country “should not be constrained by time.”
However, during the deliberations for the 2024 budget, Duterte withdrew her call for ₱650 million in confidential funds for the OVP and the Department of Education, saying the issue has become “divisive.”
READ: Sara Duterte withdraws request for ₱650M in secret funds
