Lawmaker sees 2 possible grounds for VP Sara impeachment

National

THE House committee investigating alleged financial mismanagement in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) has identified potential grounds for impeaching Vice President Sara Duterte.

According to Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the committee on good government and public accountability, the findings suggest possible graft and corruption as well as betrayal of public trust.

In a statement released on Monday, Chua emphasized that the inquiry is intended to aid legislative processes, not solely aimed at impeachment.

He reiterated that Duterte has the opportunity to address the allegations.

Chua added that he is just fulfilling his duties as mandated by the committee.

Chua raised concerns over the OVP's spending, noting that P125 million in confidential funds was reportedly disbursed within just 11 days in December 2022.

Additionally, he highlighted a controversial P15 million expenditure from the DepEd purportedly allocated for youth training programs, which military officials later denied was funded by the department.

The committee also scrutinized a P16 million expenditure for alleged rentals of “safe houses,” which lacked clarity.

Chua pointed out that the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged P73.28 million of the confidential funds for improper use and directed Duterte and other officials to address the disallowed amount.

Moreover, records indicated that the OVP made payments ranging from P250,000 to P1 million per property for these rentals during the final days of 2022.

However, many acknowledgment receipts were either unsigned or contained illegible information, raising further questions about the legitimacy of the transactions.(CMM)