PRIMA FACIE CASE
A SENIOR administration lawmaker stressed that the House Committee on good government and public accountability has found a prima facie case of malversation against Vice President Sara Duterte and an apparent case of breach of public trust over an unaccounted P10.4 million in confidential funds, alongside other alleged irregularities.
According to Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, a lawyer-legislator, only the two P2 million confidential fund allocation – or a total of P4.2 million – have been liquidated by the former education secretary who was then holding the post in a concurrent capacity, while there were no acknowledgement receipts for the rest.
Luistro said the liquidation covered only one of the four DepEd programs, which is anti-insurgency.
“So, where is this amount now? In conclusion, I wish to believe that the confidential fund of the Department of Education was not properly recorded at its best, or misspent or misappropriated at its worst,” Luisto said.
In contrast, programs about “abuse prevention and control within schools, anti-illegal activities operation, anti-extremism/terrorism programs” remained unaccounted for.
The confidential and intelligence funds issued to Duterte at the time was P15.5 million.
“What is consistent with respect to their location is equivalent only to the amount of P4.2 million. So there remains also an unexplained amount of P10.4 million,” she said.
She said, these were among the agency’s confidential program, which was in the form of “payment and rewards for informants,” when, in truth and in fact, it should be the other way around,.
“It is the humble submission of this representation that there is a prima facie case of malversation and, in addition an apparent case of breach of public trust. For us to be able to know whether there is malversation, four elements must be present,” she stated.
First is the person should be a “public official,” second is he is the “custodian of fund,” third is the “fund must be for public purpose,” and last but not the least – that the public official took, appropriated, misappropriated or consented, or negligence permitted another person to take them.”
“For the information of the public, the malversation can be done intentionally. We call it ‘dolo’, which is with criminal intent. And it can be done as well by negligence. We call it ‘culpa’ or by negligence. In other words, with or without criminal intent,” Luistro explained further.
“If the four elements are present, which I believe they are, there is prima facie case of malversation. With respect to the breach of public trust, this is violation of public’s confidence in a public officer’s ability to serve with integrity, impartiality and in accordance with law,” she said.
