OVP, DepEd Aides Asked COA to Downgrade Any Confidential Fund Findings to an Informal "Audit Query," Auditor Testifies

MANILA — Aides to Vice President Sara Duterte's Office (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) asked the Commission on Audit in September 2023 to issue a less formal "audit query" rather than a full audit observation memorandum (AOM) should auditors find deficiencies in the two agencies' use of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds, according to testimony from a former COA auditor at the Senate impeachment court. Roderick Wamil, formerly of COA's Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO), testified on August 4 — Day 12 of Duterte's impeachment trial — that he was called to a meeting in the second week of September 2023 with OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez and then-DepEd chief of staff and spokesperson Michael Poa, who is now a member of Duterte's defense team. Also present were COA Assistant Commissioner Nilda Plaras, then head of ICFAO, and audit team head Gloria Camora, according to Wamil's account reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Bulletin. Wamil said Lopez and Poa initially asked about the liquidation process and the supporting documents required under COA-Department of Budget and Management Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which governs the use, reporting, and audit of confidential and intelligence funds. After Plaras explained that an AOM would be issued if auditors found deficiencies, Wamil testified, the two officials asked "if instead of an AOM, in case there are audit findings, an audit query be issued to them instead." Wamil said he was not familiar with the term "audit query" because it does not appear among the issuances authorized under Joint Circular 2015-01. He testified that ICFAO rejected the request, since it was not sanctioned by the circular, and proceeded to issue AOMs after finding deficiencies. He added that COA personnel later attempted to serve an AOM at the OVP office but could not because no authorized person was available to receive it. The testimony formed part of the prosecution's presentation on Article I of the impeachment complaint, which accuses offices under Duterte's control of misusing ₱612.5 million in confidential funds — ₱500 million released to the OVP and ₱112.5 million to DepEd — during the period she simultaneously served as vice president and education secretary, a post she held from 2022 to 2024. Wamil testified that both agencies failed to submit documentary evidence supporting confidential fund payments for the first two quarters of 2023 and reported reward payments without proof that informants' tips led to successful intelligence or surveillance operations. For the OVP, he identified ₱82 million in medical and food aid and ₱20 million in incentives or travel-related expenses that he said were not authorized uses of confidential funds, along with ₱27 million in unsupported reward payments for the first two quarters and another ₱35 million in the third quarter. DepEd's physical and financial plans, Wamil said, also failed to identify specific confidential activities, instead broadly listing programs such as counterinsurgency, abuse prevention, and anti-extremism work without naming the schools, teachers, learners, or communities involved. He said DepEd's disbursement vouchers and liquidation reports described the spending as maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) rather than confidential fund expenses, and that DepEd's cash advances were approved by then-Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla rather than by Duterte as agency head, contrary to the joint circular's requirements. Wamil said he identified Duterte's own signatures on OVP and DepEd disbursement vouchers, liquidation reports, and certifications attesting that the cash advances were lawful and that their purposes had been accomplished. Neither Lopez nor Poa has publicly responded to Wamil's account of the September 2023 meeting. Poa, now part of Duterte's defense panel, is expected to have the opportunity to cross-examine or rebut the testimony as the trial continues. The defense has previously disputed the prosecution's characterization of the confidential fund spending as unlawful; private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, who conducted Tuesday's direct examination, has separately described the OVP's confidential fund system as a "scam," a characterization the defense rejects. **Context** The testimony builds on earlier COA findings presented at the trial, including prior testimony that OVP liquidation papers lacked the activity-level detail required under COA rules and that a P125-million confidential fund report was certified "accomplished" within 11 days of disbursement. Joint Circular 2015-01, at the center of Wamil's testimony, is the standing interagency rule that requires confidential and intelligence funds to be tied to specific, verifiable operations and liquidated with supporting documentation — a framework prosecutors say Duterte's OVP and DepEd repeatedly circumvented. The Senate impeachment court is currently hearing prosecution evidence on Article I of four articles of impeachment against Duterte, who was impeached by the House for a second time on May 11, 2026. **Sources** - [COA auditor: Duterte's OVP, DepEd sought 'audit query' on secret funds](https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2277078/coa-auditor-dutertes-ovp-deped-sought-audit-query-on-secret-funds) — Philippine Daily Inquirer, Zacarian Sarao, Aug. 4, 2026 - [Poa, Lopez sought softer audit action on VP Duterte confidential funds, COA witness says](https://mb.com.ph/2026/08/04/ovp-deped-execs-sought-softer-audit-action-on-confidential-funds-coa-witness-says) — Manila Bulletin, Ellson Quismorio, Aug. 4, 2026