Civil society, Church leaders file plunder case vs. VP Sara over confidential funds

Multiple criminal and administrative complaints have been filed with the Office of the Ombudsman against Vice President Sara Duterte and several officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) over the alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds.

The cases were filed on Friday, December 12, by civil society groups and Church leaders, who accused Duterte and her subordinates of serious violations involving public funds.

The charges include plunder, bribery, graft, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust stemming from alleged irregularities and the improper use of confidential funds entrusted to Duterte during her tenure as DepEd secretary and as head of the OVP.

Complainants arrived at the Ombudsman carrying boxes of documents, which they said contain evidence against Duterte and 15 OVP and DepEd officials who served under her from 2022 to 2024.

Among the complainants are Fr. Flavie Villanueva of the Society of the Divine Word and former Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Cielo Magno.

Villanueva said the alleged indiscriminate use of public funds without accountability constitutes a criminal act and a blatant betrayal of public trust. He urged the Ombudsman to stop what he described as the continued erosion of the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, stressing that the public has the right to transparency even in the use of confidential funds claimed to be for sensitive operations.

Magno said DepEd officials themselves have spoken out about the alleged abuse of confidential funds but warned that critical evidence remains unaccounted for. She cited the need for a report from the Department of National Defense (DND) detailing what happened to funds allegedly handed to Duterte’s security personnel.

Magno also pressed for the examination of Duterte’s bank accounts, saying the money trail is crucial to establishing plunder.

“That is where you see the flow of money. That is how you determine who benefited. A disclosure from the Anti-Money Laundering Council to the Ombudsman is essential, and that is what we are demanding,” Magno said.

As of posting time, the Vice President’s camp has yet to issue a statement on the complaints.