House calls for VP military aides; AFP to cooperate

MANILA, Philippines — The blue ribbon committee of the Home of Representatives has invited two rating officers of the Vice Presidential Safety and Safety Group (VPSPG) to reply claims that they disbursed P612.5 million in confidential funds below the Workplace of the Vice President (OVP) and the Division of Schooling (DepEd).

Particular disbursing officers (SDO) recognized Col. Raymund Dante Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco as accountable for disbursing hundreds of thousands of pesos in money from Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds below the OVP and DepEd throughout a Home of Representatives listening to on Monday.

Lachica is the commander of the VPSPG whereas Nolasco was assigned as a safety officer at DepEd and is reportedly presently “on education.”

READ: OVP exec: I left secret funds to safety head as per VP Sara’s order

Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the Home committee on good authorities and public accountability, stated the 2 can be invited to the subsequent listening to this Friday.

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In response, the Armed Forces of the Philippines stated it could cooperate with the continued congressional probe.

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“If they’re summoned to the investigation, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will cooperate,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla stated at a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon Metropolis on Tuesday.

Padilla, nevertheless, declined to remark additional. “As that is an ongoing investigation, we might not wish to challenge statements that may hamper or affect the proceedings. So at this level, we shun from making statements that may affect the results of the investigation,” she stated.

VP’s directions

The continuing Home probe stemmed from the alleged misuse of hundreds of thousands in Duterte’s confidential funds.

With the Home panel’s invitation, Lachica and Nolasco are anticipated to elucidate why Duterte delegated to them the duty of disbursing the OVP’s P500-million and DepEd’s P112.5-million confidential funds.

Gina Acosta and Edward Fajarda, SDOs of the OVP and DepEd, respectively, instructed the committee throughout Monday night time’s listening to that the Vice President ordered them to show over the funds to Lachica and Nolasco.

“I didn’t disburse (the confidential funds) in actuality,” Acosta stated, including that it was Lachica, who had the belief of the “head of workplace,” who did.

The P125 million encashed and handed over by Acosta to Lachica represented the confidential funds allotted to the OVP for the final quarter of 2022 however had been used inside simply 11 days in December of that yr. The OVP subsequently obtained an extra P125 million per quarter for the primary three quarters of 2023.

The Fee on Audit flagged almost half of the preliminary P125 million, disallowing P73 million spent within the 11-day interval in late 2022.

Audit statement memorandums had been additionally issued for the remaining P375 million spent in 2023, citing a number of irregularities.

Designated safety officer

Fajarda, however, maintained that he turned over DepEd’s P112.5-million confidential fund for the primary three quarters of 2023 to Nolasco as Duterte’s designated safety officer. He stated he didn’t spend the funds however relied on Nolasco, who he claimed was an “knowledgeable” at conducting confidential operations.

When grilled by Quezon Rep. David Suarez on who gave Nolasco the authority to handle the funds, Fajarda replied that the directive got here from the Vice President. “I used to be knowledgeable by VP Sara that there’s a designated safety officer,” he stated.

Fajarda encashed P37.5 million, a part of the P112.5 million in confidential funds below DepEd, as a money advance within the first quarter of 2023, with two further checks of the identical quantity withdrawn in subsequent quarters whereas Duterte was main the training division.

In the identical listening to, Fajarda, who’s now serving as an government within the OVP, additionally testified that he solicited private checking account particulars from DepEd officers and delivered money envelopes below Duterte’s directions.

“Really po, I used to be instructed by VP Sara,” Fajarda stated when Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre questioned why he was asking about financial institution particulars. He added that the funds had been handed to him by the Vice President herself and that the money envelopes had been distributed to DepEd superintendents, though not all obtained them.

“Throughout po kasi sa pag-iikot ni VP Sara, nakita po niya doon ’yung superintendent gumagastos ng sarili nilang pera sa workplace fieldwork nila (Throughout VP Sara’s visits, she noticed that some superintendents had been spending their private cash on workplace fieldwork),” Fajarda stated.

Nevertheless, Acidre introduced proof, together with screenshots and affidavits, suggesting {that a} broader group of officers, notably in Area 7 (Central Visayas), had been contacted.

“Kung titingnan mo sa screenshot, ‘yung lahat po ng superintendent sa Area 7 ay inyo pong kinontak at hiningan. Ibig sabihin silang lahat po nabigyan (Based mostly on the screenshots, it appears all superintendents in Area 7 had been contacted. Does that imply all of them obtained money)?” Acidre stated. Fajarda reiterated that not all superintendents obtained the money envelopes.

Comparable disclosures

When requested about the place the funds got here from, Fajarda confirmed that the Vice President handed it out. “Binibigay po ‘yun sa akin ni VP Sara (VP Sara gave it to me),” he stated.

This admission aligns with comparable disclosures from different former DepEd officers, together with former undersecretary Gloria Mercado and former chief accountant Rhunna Catalan, who beforehand acknowledged receiving money from Duterte.

Acidre highlighted the sample, noting the consistency of the testimonies throughout a number of witnesses.

“‘Pag naging panauhin po namin ang mga superintendents at regional administrators, we might anticipate that will be the response—na hindi po lahat at hindi po common (Once we herald superintendents and regional administrators, we anticipate the response can be that not everybody obtained money, and it was irregular)?” Acidre stated.

“Sure, your honor,” Fajarda replied. —with a report from PNA