The House of Representatives is recommending the filing of criminal charges against Vice President Sara Duterte and other officials of her office over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
It also accused former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senators Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go of orchestrating a campaign of state-sanctioned killings, shielding drug traffickers, and enabling widespread corruption through Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
The charges were contained in the reports submitted by the Committee on Good Government and the QuadComm and approved in plenary session yesterday.
Good Government committee head, Rep. Joel Chua of Manila, identified the alleged sins of certain past and present officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
The charges include technical malversation; falsification and use of falsified documents; perjury; bribery and corruption, plunder, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution.
The Chua panel investigated the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds managed by the OVP and DepEd under Vice President Duterte who was impeached by the House last Feb. 5.
Of the P612.5 million under investigation, P500 million pertains to the OVP’s confidential funds allocations, while P112.5 million went to DepEd.
The OVP received P625 million in confidential funds for late 2022 and all of 2023, with COA reviewing P500 million and noting significant irregularities.
In December 2022 alone, the OVP allegedly spent P125 million in just 11 days—from December 21 to 31—averaging P11.364 million daily. COA disallowed P73.3 million, citing irregularities and ordered repayment from Duterte and two other OVP officials.
The final 66-page report of the Quad Comm, led by Quad Comm lead chair Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, was based on 15 public hearings between August 2024 and June 2025.
“The extrajudicial killings are a product of the war on drugs,” the report said. “The said killings were perpetrated, tolerated and even encouraged and rewarded during the drug war.”
The committee report was signed by Barbers and co-chairs Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., and Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano.
