Malacañang on Thursday said there is nothing inherently wrong with confidential funds as long as they are used for legitimate purposes, within an agency’s mandate, and properly accounted for.

“Walang mali sa confidential funds, kung ito ay nagagamit sa tunay na dahilan or purpose at kung ito ay base sa mandato ng ahensya (There is nothing wrong with confidential funds if they are used for a legitimate purpose and if their use is within the mandate of the agency),” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.

Castro made the statement as the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, continued hearing testimony and evidence from the prosecution and defense, including Commission on Audit (COA) findings on Vice President Sara Duterte’s use and liquidation of confidential funds.

The funds under scrutiny include PHP500 million from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and PHP112.5 million from the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as Education secretary.

Castro stressed that the executive branch would not interfere in the impeachment proceedings but questioned the OVP’s reported use of PHP125 million in confidential funds within 11 days.

She said the spending raised questions about whether the funds were deliberately exhausted to avoid returning the unspent balance to the National Treasury.

“Bilang parte ng aming mandato, na ipaliwanag ang katotohanan, ito po ang aming nakita. Unang-una, bakit nga ba naubos ang PHP125 million in 11 days (As part of our mandate to explain the truth, this is what we have observed. First, why was the PHP125 million spent in just 11 days)?” Castro said.

“Ang pondo po kasi, kapag hindi naubos sa loob ng isang taon, ito ay bumabalik sa National Treasury. So, lumalabas kailangang ubusin, in 11 days, para hindi na maibalik sa National Treasury (Funds that are not fully utilized within the year are returned to the National Treasury. So, it appears that there was a need to spend it within 11 days so it would not have to be returned to the National Treasury),” she added.

Castro also questioned the use of confidential funds for Duterte’s “own protection,” noting that the Vice President is provided security by the police and military.

Castro cited COA Joint Circular No. 2015-01, which sets guidelines for the proper liquidation and handling of confidential funds, including the maintenance of supporting documents that may be presented to auditors when necessary.

She said the confidential nature of the funds does not exempt agencies from accounting for their use.

Castro, a lawyer, also criticized what she described as “misleading” questions during the cross-examination of witnesses in the impeachment proceedings, saying questions that force witnesses to answer only “yes” or “no” could result in inaccurate responses.

“Sanay-sanay na nga tayo sa fake news, pati ba naman sa hearing magkakaroon pa ng fake news. So, hindi po alam ang misleading questions, kasi para mong niloloko iyong witness mo at pipilitin mong sumagot na oo o hindi (We have become accustomed to fake news, and now are we going to have fake news even in the hearing? A misleading question is problematic because it is as if you are misleading the witness and forcing the witness to answer either yes or no),” she said.

Her remarks followed a heated exchange between lawyers Lorna Kapunan and Kristine Ferrer over the use of allegedly misleading questions during the cross-examination of witnesses in Duterte’s impeachment trial. (PNA)