The court that tries the country's graft cases has been flagged by the Commission on Audit for spending that its own auditors say was not fully backed by the paperwork the rules require. COA's 2025 annual audit report on the Sandiganbayan, posted on the court's website, found ₱11,869,847.98 in foreign-travel cash advances "not fully supported with complete documentary requirements," according to Ghio Ong of The Philippine Star (Oct. 15). A separate finding questions ₱13,649,836.40 spent on private venues.
The trips
Per the Star's account of the report, the court's people made seven trips between September and December 2025, mostly conferences and training, to Missouri in the US, Victoria in Australia, Budapest, Dubai, Doha and Singapore. (The story lists six destinations for seven trips and does not explain the difference.) The costliest were Hungary at more than ₱2.5 million, Dubai at more than ₱1.88 million and Singapore at more than ₱1.82 million.
COA said documents were missing, including letters of invitation, plane fare quotations and flight itineraries. More than ₱7.1 million of the total also lacked narrative reports, the write-ups that are supposed to show what government got for sending people abroad.
The Hungary trip drew specific attention: roundtrip tickets cost ₱621,783 for three justices to attend a special course on artificial intelligence in the criminal legal profession. COA said it could not determine whether the fares were within allowable rates. Under the court's rules, only the presiding justice may fly "full business class"; everyone else is supposed to fly "official economy class" unless the host pays. The Star's report does not name the justices or say which class they flew.
The venues
The court entered 12 negotiated-procurement contracts with private lessors in 2025, totaling ₱13,649,836.40, mostly with four- and five-star hotels for seminars, workshops and the Christmas party, the Star reported. The largest single item was an "executive briefing and capacity building" event at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan, billed at ₱5,175,200. Other events were held at the five-star Clark Marriott Hotel in Pampanga, the Baguio Country Club and the four-star Seda Vertis North in Quezon City; the report includes a tree-planting tied to a special en banc session.
COA said several transactions lacked documents showing that government-owned venues were considered first, that private venues were more economical, or that four- or five-star hotels were justified. The lease of private venues, the auditors said, was "not consistently supported with the required justifications and documentary evidence." The Daily Tribune, in its own coverage, put the combined questioned spending at ₱25.51 million.
What we don't know
The Star's report includes no response from the Sandiganbayan. It is not clear whether the missing documents exist and were simply not submitted, or whether they were never prepared. COA's findings are audit observations, not a finding of wrongdoing, and nothing in the coverage alleges that any trip or event did not take place. Still, a court that routinely demands receipts, authenticity and complete documentation from accused officials now has an audit report asking it for its own.
Context
COA's annual audit reports have lately turned up a steady stream of documentation lapses across agencies, among them unliquidated funds at the Philippine Sports Commission and the peace office, which Pulpulitiko has covered. The Sandiganbayan is currently hearing the flood-control plunder and graft cases against sitting and former lawmakers. An Inquirer headline surfaced in search noted that the court says COA found it compliant with accounting policies, a framing that sits awkwardly beside the documentation gaps above; we have not been able to confirm the date or content of that statement.
Sources
- Ghio Ong, "COA flags Sandiganbayan justices' foreign trips," The Philippine Star, Oct. 15, 2026 — https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/10/15/2563329/coa-flags-sandiganbayan-justices-foreign-trips
- "CoA Flags Sandiganbayan's P25.51M Spending on Foreign Travels, Luxury Venues," Daily Tribune, Oct. 14, 2026 — https://tribune.net.ph/2026/10/14/coa-flags-p2551m-in-sandiganbayan-expenses
- "Sandiganbayan says COA finds court compliant with accounting policies," Philippine Daily Inquirer (headline only; not independently verified) — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2324836/sandiganbayan-says-coa-finds-court-compliant-with-accounting-policies