‘Bilocating’ disbursement officer

A thought for this week of super heavy rains and the exposed vortex of corruption that has sucked this woebegone nation into flood waters: If I had a band, I’d name it Flood Control Band, a name akin to the famous Air Supply and Earth, Wind and Fire bands.

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Bilocation refers to a supernatural phenomenon where one person is said to have been seen or is present in two different locations at the same particular time. Multilocation therefore means being in more than two locations at the same moment. Bilocation is used more often to refer to a sighting of persons of high or deep—that is, uncommon—spirituality. These humble, saintly persons may not claim they are gifted but other people may recognize the gift.

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A well-known example is St. Padre Pio (1887-1968), the Italian Franciscan Capuchin priest known to have had the gift of bilocation as well as the stigmata, that is, the wounds inflicted on Jesus Christ while he was being crucified. Padre Pio endured his bleeding, painful stigmata even while he continued his spiritual ministry and until he died. Documentaries have been made on his saintly life.

In the spiritual realm and in the practice of prayerfulness, the concept of bilocation has different meanings but that is going into another territory. Bilocation simply means being in two or more places at one time, like that line in the song “If” by the rock band Bread.

Comes now a phenomenon—if we can call it that—right smack in Philippine territory involving suspicious practices in government service. Of the four impeachment cases or articles against Vice President Sara Duterte, Case 2 (of the 4) involving P612.5 million in confidential funds spent by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) which she briefly headed, could be the most damning. On Day 14 and 15 of the impeachment trial, witnesses and documents from the Commission on Audit (COA) were presented by the prosecution.

Last week, we wrote about the strange names of those who signed acknowledgment receipts (AC) in the absence of official receipts. A member of the House of Representatives prosecution panel likened the names to “a grocery list.” One could make a fruit salad, quipped prosecution lawyer Lorna Kapunan. If she tried to make light of them to break the tense atmosphere then, she was on the war path this week while she presented witness Xylene del Campo of COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office.

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Kapunan showed Del Campo a sampling from more than 1,000 ACs and made her note the dates when they were disbursed and where. March 15, 2023: Puerto Galera, Laguna, Agusan, Olongapo, Zamboanga City, Butuan City, Davao City, Nabunturan, Dasmariñas, etc. Some did not have names, only signatures. Same with the disbursements on other dates. Truly a case of bilocation, if not multilocation.

Admitting to be a fan of Marvel comics, Kapunan told the court that only Superman could have done that, that is, crisscrossing the country on one single day, and referring to the special disbursement officer from the OVP. COA’s Del Campo and Roderick Wamil before her, boosted the prosecution’s case.

Objection, Your Honor, from defense counsel Christine Ferrer, to the mention of the DC superhero. If not Superman, who else with the gift of bilocation then?

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I was taking down notes on my impeachment notebook and laughing. As I have said a number of times in this space, those tasked to do the criminal, dirty task must have invented the grocery list and “fruit salad” names (Keso, Mango, Kamote, etc.) in disgust. And perhaps with the holy desire to expose the sordidness of it all. Oh, to see the day when they would be presented as witnesses.

I can’t wait to hear about it next week from the special disbursing officers of the OVP and DepEd, namely, Gina Acosta and Edward Fajarda, who withdrew the cash from the Shaw Blvd. and DepEd branches of Landbank. They are among the “Supermen” to be summoned as hostile witnesses of the prosecution. Why were the funds disbursed in that manner and who were those recipients with “fruit salad” names? And what to make of medicines, safe houses with exorbitant rents, etc. without receipts?

I can sense the defense trying to show that confidential and intelligence funds could use aliases or fictitious names for recipients. Senator-judge Ping Lacson, former head of the Philippine National Police, has an answer. “There is a vault…”

When asked if confidential funds are a regular item for the OVP as in the past if at all, witness Del Campo gave a straightforward no.

If you watch the impeachment trial in real time or replay, there is much to enjoy and learn—from the prosecution and defense counsels, the witnesses, the evidence, the senator-judges, the story line that emerges. There is also much to glean from posttrial social media posts of legal experts, arm chair analysts, comments, vloggers, punsters, and other netizens. Ignore the noise from trolls, bashers, and mean-spirited creatures of the dark.

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