Sara Duterte trial recap, Aug. 11: Pia Piattos Lim and 'Superman'
MANILA, Philippines — A state auditor testified Tuesday, August 11, that several acknowledgment receipts for the Department of Education's confidential funds were issued on a single day across provinces from Abra to Agusan del Sur, even as only one officer was allowed to disburse the funds.
The prosecution's witness, state auditor Xylene del Campo, spent all of Day 14 continuing to walk the senator-judges through what she found when she evaluated the confidential records of Vice President Sara Duterte, both in her office and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Among other things that Del Campo flagged that formed the Commission on Audit's eventual notices of disallowance were receipts with names like "Pia Piattos Lim" and hundreds of disbursements dated the same day despite being disbursed in different provinces.
Here are the three highlights from today's proceedings.
1. One officer, a dozen provinces, a single day
Lorna Kapunan, counsel to the prosecution panel, had Del Campo confirm several sets of DepEd acknowledgment receipts, with each batch disbursed on a single day across provinces stretching from Abra to Agusan del Sur.
Many bore only signatures and no names, with amounts up to P200,000, for the purchase of information, "rewards" and "supplies."
Under the joint circular, only DepEd's lone special disbursing officer, Edward Fajarda, could release the funds, and this duty cannot be transferred. Del Campo said COA received no document showing Fajarda authorized anyone else.
It was presiding officer Sen. Chiz Escudero who spelled out the implication of this, that if the SDO is the only authorized officer, "clearly it's physically impossible to be in all of these locations in one day."
At one point, Kapunan quipped that this made the disbursing officer akin to "superman."
Del Campo said none of the more than 30 agencies she has audited had ever submitted receipts of this nature.
Fajarda, she recalled, had earlier told a House hearing that he handed the funds to Col. Dennis Nolasco of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, which she said was another violation of the circular.
Despite this, DepEd's first and second quarter 2023 liquidations passed audit, on the strength of certifications attesting to successful operations as funded by the secret funds.
Del Campo noted, however, that settled accounts can be reopened within three years if fraud, collusion or new material evidence surfaces.
The third quarter remains under review, delayed by voluminous documents and what she described as a lack of manpower at COA.
2. Tree planting offered as proof of surveillance success
To justify millions in reward payments to supposed informants, the OVP submitted proof of the "success" of its intelligence operations.
According to testimony by Del Campo, the proof provided by the OVP included rice distributions, medical missions, TUPAD payouts, tree-planting activities and the vice president's speaking engagements.
The attached certifications stated only that "there were no untoward incidents" at Duterte's events, which Del Campo said in her evaluation was not enough to warrant paying rewards.
"Doon sa probable threat na 'yun, may nahuli ba? 'Yun ang magwawarrant ng payment na ganoon," she said.
Del Campo further confirmed to Escudero that some expenses were incurred even before the cash advance was released, in effect using the secret funds for reimbursement, which the joint circular prohibits.
3. "Pia Piattos Lim" and other names on the receipts
Kapunan flashed on screen OVP acknowledgment receipts listing reward recipients named "Pia Piattos Lim," "Ralph Josh Bacon," "Jose Diokno," "Maple Lapid" and "Heart Santiago."
Del Campo declined to speculate whether these are real people, explaining that COA conducts compliance audits and relies solely on the documents submitted in assessing whether fund use was proper.
What this means is that at least for the compliance audit level, the names on the receipts are not in question.
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