The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability will soon conclude its investigation into the alleged improper use of P612.5 million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte.
According to Committee Chairman Manila Rep. Joel Chua, the meeting was held yesterday to wrap up and summarize the results of the investigation.
"There are those who have already filed an impeachment complaint against our Vice President, so it is better for us to finish the investigation on the confidential funds," said Chua. He added that the questions regarding this would be better answered in the impeachment process if it continues.
In the seven hearings conducted by the committee, alleged irregularities in the use of confidential funds were discovered, including the P125 million funds that were used up within 11 days.
Some of the details discovered are:
- Spending P16 million to rent 34 safehouses in December 2022.
- The use of P15 million for the youth leadership summits of the Philippine Army, which was denied by the said agency.
- The acceptance of "Mary Grace Piattos" of confidential funds.
Two impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte last week, including the allegation of misuse of confidential funds.
According to Chua, the information from their investigation can be used by the House Committee on Justice as part of their hearing related to the impeachment complaints.
