Today is the 13th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The Senate impeachment court will continue to hear article 1 on the alleged misuse, questionable liquidation, and systematic misappropriation of confidential funds of Duterte.
3:02 p.m. - The Senate impeachment trial is adjourned. Session will resume on Monday, August 10, 10 a.m.
3:01 p.m. - The Court, meanwhile, grants the requested judicial notice but Escudero says it is limited to the factual existence of the hearings.
He says the truth to the hearings remains subject to proof and the court’s independent evaluation.
2:59 p.m. - Escudero makes a ruling, says the objection of the counsel for the respondent to the marking of portions of the affidavit of alleged Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas is denied.
Escudero said the marking does not mean there is a ruling on the authenticity, admissibility or evidentiary weight of the affidavit.
2:44 p.m. - Ferrer opposes the motion for judicial notice to admit records, transcripts, and committee reports from the House Committee on Justice and Good Government and Public Accountability saying the respondent already questioned these before the Supreme Court as fishing expedition and mini-trial.
Ferrer adds they do not know if the video are spliced or edited.
2:33 p.m. - Del Campo is excused and will appear before the court on Monday, August 10.
2:30 p.m. - Escudero directs parties to agree on a date.
2:26 p.m. - Ferrer says they will agree provided they will not be forced to stipulate on the acknowledgment receipts and that the time shall be mutually agreed upon.
2:23 p.m. - Kapunan makes a motion that the impeachment clerk of court preside over a session where the counsel for the respondent can examine the documents.
2:20 p.m. - Ferrer says they oppose Del Campo's examination of the documents outside of court.
2:14 p.m. - Escudero directs Del Campo to go over the documents after today's trial so that she would be ready to testify on Monday if indeed those are the same documents she reviewed, perused and turned over to her by Wamil.
2:10 p.m. - Del Campo is perusing the acknowledgment receipts for the period covering December 21-31, 2022.
2:03 p.m. - Del Campo took over the liquidation of documents of the OVP and DepEd after Wamil was transferred to another COA office.
2:02 p.m. - Del Campo adds that the only liquidation documents for DepEd that she audited were those from VP Duterte when she was still secretary. She says Duterte was the only DepEd Secretary with confidential fund from the time she joined COA-ICFAO to present.
1:59 p.m. - Del Campo says the only liquidation documents of the OVP she audited was that of VP Duterte's ever since she worked for COA-ICFAO from August 26, 2024 to present.
Del Campo: Because from 2024 hanggang sa ngayon po 'yung na-submit sa'min na liquidation documents is sa confidential fund po ni VP Sara.
1:30 p.m. - Atty. Kristine Ferrer, counsel for the respondent, says they will not stipulate on eight items.
1:27 p.m. - Trial resumes. Escudero asks both parties to provide the other side with whatever list of documents for stipulation to not use up the court's time.
1:07 p.m. - Escudero declares a five-minute recess for the counsel of the respondent to examine the list of documents for proposed stipulation.
1:03 p.m. - Trial resumes. The prosecution presents its new witness from the Commission on Audit, state auditor Xylene Del Campo.
12:21 p.m. - Wamil is excused and the Senate impeachment trial court takes a brief recess. Trial will resume at 1 p.m.
12:01 p.m. - Lacson says COA's audit seems to be lacking because it does not validate whether the person who signed the acknowledgment receipt is a real person. He recommends that COA amend its circular, saying, parang bitin ang inyong pagsasagawa ng audit.
11:55 a.m. - Marcos: Mag-yes or no ka lang kanina ka pa eh inaaway mo ko lagi eh.
Escudero reminds Wamil to not argue with senator-judges.
Wamil apologizes.
11:52 a.m. - Marcos asks Wamil if the accountable officer is the VP or the special disbursement officer who is the authorized payee. She says the SDO for OVP is Gina Acosta and for DepEd is Edward Fajarda and are therefore the accountable oficcers.
Wamil says that is "not entirely correct" and it is the responsibility of the head of agency to approve the cash advance and oversee the agency-wide utilization.
Marcos says the joint circular says head of agency or person designated.
Wamil replies that the term accountable officers is not only limited to that.
11:44 a.m. - Wamil told Senator-judge Juan Miguel Zubiri that under the rules, a failure to properly liquidate funds and submit required documents creates a presumption that the money was used for personal benefit.
11:27 a.m. - Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano asked Wamil what makes an excessive expenditure an administrative issue and a criminal case in nature.
Wamil explained that when COA issues an Audit Observation Memorandum or a Notice of Suspension, the agency is required to submit supporting documents. However, if a Notice of Disallowance is issued, there is already an obligation to restitute the amount involved, although the agency may still settle the amount and file an appeal.
He added that under the relevant circular, failure to properly liquidate confidential funds gives rise to a prima facie presumption of misuse or misappropriation.
Cayetano pointed out that such a presumption is disputable, clarifying that a prima facie presumption is a disputable presumption, not a conclusive presumption.
11:27 a.m. - Tulfo shows an acknowledgment receipt signed by a certain TJ Verano dated December 22, 2026. He points out that the expenditure was for 2022.
Wamil says this was why they had a finding about this receipt and questioned it.
11:25 a.m. - Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asks Wamil if they asked the OVP to justify the P2 million per day expense for safe houses.
Wamil says they did not ask the OVP to justify because there is no threshold in the Joint Circular as to the amount that can be spent.
11:22 a.m. - Wamil answers Senator-judge Juan Miguel Zubiri that if there is no proper liquidation and if not all the required documents are submitted, the assumption is the fund was used for personal benefit.
11:20 a.m. - Pangilinan asks Wamil if it is unusual that a government agency did not receive COA's audit observation memorandum (AOM) as COA-ICFAO experienced when the OVP did not receive the AOM because there was no authorized person to do so.
Wamil says it was the first time this happened and it was unusual.
11:18 a.m. - Pangilinan says it is "unusual" that the OVP had 111 disbursements on Dec. 23, 2022 totaling P17 million.
Wamil says he wouldnt know because there is no specific provision in the circular about this.
11:08 a.m. - Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson says COA's audit seems to be lacking because it does not validate if the one who signed the acknowledgment receipt is a real person. He recommends that COA amend its circular.
11:02 a.m. - Escudero asks Wamil if a decision of the COA appealed to the Supreme Court is executory unless a temporary restraining order is issued.
Wamil confirms this.
11 a.m. - Wamil answers Senator-judge JV Ejercito that the accountable person in the use of confidential fund is the head of the agency.
10:57 a.m. - Marcos also asks if there was a finding that the confidential fund was stolen or used for personal means.
Wamil says there was a presumption that the fund was used for personal benefit based on the Joint Circular.
10:56 a.m. - Senator-judge Imee Marcos asks if there was any finding that the acknowledgment receipts of the OVP were fabricated.
Wamil says he has no basis to say this because that was not the focus of their audit.
Marcos also asks if COA said the documentary evidence of payment and acknowledgment receipts were fake.
Wamil says there was no such finding because that was not their focus.
10:51 a.m. - Senator-judge Robinhood Padilla asks Wamil if he has seen the need of those in far-flung areas for food and medicine.
Wamil says he has not observed this.
Padilla also asks if Wamil has ever been exposed to threats of terrorism in the country. Wamil says he has seen this in the news.
Padilla further asks if confidential agents should identify themselves. Wamil says there is no provision for this.
10:46 a.m. - Wamil says the OVP did not submit its evidence of success for reward payments.
He adds that based on his initial evaluation of the first and second quarter submissions of DepEd, there was no documentary evidence of success of surveillance activities or information gathering.
10:43 a.m. - Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros asks Wamil about the nature of confidential funds. Wamil says even if these are confidential funds, these still need to be scrutinized because these are public funds.
10:41 a.m. - Wamil says the OVP only submitted its documentary evidence of payments upon receipt of the Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) from COA-ICFAO.
The COA-ICFAO later on issued a notice of suspension. Upon evaluation of the OVP's response, Wamil says they saw that the payment of rewards, goods and purchases had no official receipts or sales invoices but just acknowledgment receipts.
He adds that there was a finding in the notice of suspension that the OVP's expenditure was bigger.
10:34 a.m. - Wamil clarifies to Senator-judge Joel Villanueva that they accept acknowledgment receipts when the purchase made is for information.
10:34 a.m. - Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian asks Wamil if they validated if the names on the acknowledgment receipts were true. Wamil says they did not because that was not the focus of the compliance audit which checks the face of the acknowledgment receipts, the date of the payment and the amount.
10:32 a.m. - Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asks Wamil why the COA did not file a case if they saw something suspicious with the disbursements of the OVP.
The witness says the COA only refers a case if there is a final order that was not complied. He says he has no personal knowledge about what happened next because he already transferred to another COA office.
10:24 a.m. - Pangilinan asks Wamil if it is a standard practice that there are no official receipts or sales invoices submitted to COA.
Wamil says he cannot say that it is a standard. He adds that it was the first time he experienced that only acknowledgment receipts were submitted and numbered to more than 800.
10:18 a.m. - Senator-judge Bam Aquino asks Wamil about the use of aliases. The latter says Joint Circular 2015-01, which COA follows, is silent on this.
10:16 a.m. - Wamil mentions that COA Circular 92-385 dated October 1, 1992 showed by Poa yesterday has already been repealed.
10:13 a.m. - Wamil says the disclosure of expenses to COA with regards to the use of confidential funds will not jeopardize national security.
10:12 a.m. - Tulfo asks Wamil if he also audited other government offices. The latter says he did.
Asked if other government agencies used aliases, Wamil says he cannot determine this as the submissions did not indicate if aliases were used or not.
10:10 a.m. - Senator-judge and Presiding Officer Francis Escudero believes there is no conflict of interest because Poa is not the one on trial and is a counsel for respondent Vice President Sara Duterte.
Tulfo rests his case.
10:08 a.m. - Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo gives a point of order. He asks if there is no conflict of interest with Atty. Michael Poa, counsel for the respondent, who supposedly went to COA to talk to Wamil and the former head of COA-ICFAO (Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office) regarding an audit query.
10:04 a.m. - Former Commission on Audit (COA) state auditor Roderick Wamil is called to the witness stand.
10:03 a.m. - Seventeen senator-judges are present, quorum is declared.
10 a.m. - The Senate impeachment trial court convenes. Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan leads the opening prayer.
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