Plunder raps filed vs Sara, 15 others

Vice President Sara Duterte is facing plunder, bribery, malversation and graft complaints over the alleged misuse of P612 million worth of confidential funds, which were allegedly diverted, misused and concealed across the Office of the Vice President (OVP) as well as the Department of Education (DepEd), which she previously headed.

- By DAPHNE GALVEZ

Civic society leaders, including priests, economists and members of academe, filed a complaint against Duterte and 15 other officials of the OVP and the DepEd before the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday.

The eight complainants arrived at the Office of the Ombudsman with a truckload of documents, which they presented as evidence as they filed the complaint.

They accused the OVP and DepEd of employing a “systematic scheme” to divert, mishandle and conceal confidential funds, through the preparation of vouchers, blind certification, encashment, handover, distribution and cover-up.

These, the complainants said, constitute violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

They claimed disbursement vouchers were unsupported and certifications were signed without review. Entire cash advances were allegedly turned over to unauthorized Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers designated by Duterte, even though they have no legal authority to receive government funds.

The liquidation, meanwhile, was completed using fake acknowledgement receipts bearing fabricated names such as "Mary Grace Piattos," "Nova" and "Oishi." Many receipts, they said, allegedly bore identical handwriting or dates when the agencies had no confidential funds. AFP officers later testified that they never received confidential funds despite certifications used by DepEd officials.

They also cited sworn testimonies of former undersecretary Gloria Mercado and chief accountant Ma. Rhunna Catalan, who said they received monthly envelopes of cash of up to P50,000 from Sunshine Fajarda, who claimed the funds came from the OVP.

The complainants argued that the respondents handled and diverted significant amounts of public money without supporting documents and fabricated receipts, resulting in unaccounted funds, forming the basis for the malversation charges.