Latest news with #RepublicAct6770
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
VP Sara answers alleged fund misuse before Ombudsman
Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday filed a counter-affidavit before the Office of the Ombudsman in response to allegations of fund misuse in her office and during her tenure as Secretary of the Department of Education. The counter-affidavit responded to allegations of technical malversation of public funds, falsification of public documents, perjury, bribery, corruption of public officers, plunder, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution against the Vice President and her subordinates. The same allegations were levelled against Duterte by the House committee on good government and public accountability which conducted a series of inquiries. Based on the information provided to GMA News Online by the Vice President's camp, the reply to the Ombudsman's order was filed by lawyers Paul Lim and former Department of Education spokesperson Michael Poa at 1:10 pm on June 27, 2025. The Ombudsman on June 19 directed Duterte to comment on the allegations. The House panel was named the complainant. The House panel, however, said it did not file a complaint against the Vice President before the Ombudsman but merely recommended the filing of charges. The panel had said that it found that the OVP and DepEd submitted acknowledgment receipts riddled with wrong dates, signatories with no birth records, unnamed signatories, and non-readable names of signatories before the Commission of Audit (COA) to justify the disbursement of around P612.5 million worth of confidential funds. The Vice President has maintained that she never misused public funds. But as a result of the panel's findings, the Vice President is now facing an impeachment trial before the Senate. Earlier, House prosecution panel spokesperson and lawyer Antonio Audie Bucoy said that the Ombudsman should wait for the verdict of the Senate impeachment court on Duterte before deciding whether she should face criminal prosecution. "The impeachment proceedings are of primordial consideration," Bucoy said in a press conference. "'Yan ho ang pinakamataas na antas tungo sa [hakbang na] panagutin ang impeachable official. Under the Ombudsman Act, Republic Act 6770, meron hong dalawang provisions doon na sinasabi na ang Ombudsman ay hindi pwedeng imbestigahan ang impeachable official because sapagkat ang mekanismo na nakasaad sa saligang batas [ay] impeachment, na ang may jurisdiction ay ang Senado, sitting as an impeachment court,' he said, referring to Section 21 of the Ombudsman law. (The impeachment is the highest-ranked accountability tool for an impeachable official. The Ombudsman Act has two provisions stating that the Ombudsman cannot investigate an impeachable official because the process for that is impeachment, which is under the jurisdiction of the Senate impeachment court.) 'Pangalawa, meron din diyan provision na nagsasabi kung iimbestigahan, maaaring imbestigahan ng Ombudsman ang impeachable official kapag ang layunin nito ay mag-file ng verified impeachment complaint. Yun lang ho,' Bucoy added, referring to Section 22 of the Ombudsman law. (Secondly, the same law states that if the Ombudsman investigates an impeachable official, the goal must be to file a verified impeachment complaint. That's it.) The Office of the Ombudsman is headed by Samuel Martires, a former Supreme Court and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice. His tenure will end in July this year. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
House prosecution: Ombudsman must wait for impeachment court verdict on VP Sara
Ombudsman Samuel Martires must wait for the Senate impeachment court's verdict on Vice President Sara Duterte before deciding whether she should face criminal prosecution, the House prosecution panel said. The Office of the Ombudsman must wait for the verdict of the Senate impeachment court on Vice President Sara Duterte before deciding whether she should face criminal prosecution, as stated in Ombudsman law, the House prosecution panel said Tuesday. House prosecution panel spokesperson Antonio Audie Bucoy made the response when asked if Ombudsman Samuel Martires should defer to the Senate impeachment court in light of his ordering the Vice President to answer allegations of criminal activities. These allegations, which include technical malversation of public funds, plunder, and falsification of public documents, were first revealed during the House panel inquiry into her office's budget use, including P612.5 million worth of confidential funds from 2022 to 2023. "The impeachment proceedings is of primordial consideration," Bucoy said in a press conference. "'Yan ho ang pinakamataas na antas tungo sa [hakbang na] panagutin ang impeachable official. Under the Ombudsman Act, Republic Act 6770, meron hong dalawang provisions doon na sinasabi na ang Ombudsman ay hindi pwedeng imbestigahan ang impeachable official because sapagkat ang mekanismo na nakasaad sa saligang batas [ay] impeachment, na ang may jurisdiction ay ang Senado, sitting as an impeachment court,' he said, referring to Section 21 of the Ombudsman law. (The impeachment is the highest ranked accountability tool for an impeachable official. The Ombudsman Act has two provisions stating that the Ombudsman cannot investigate an impeachable official because the process for that is impeachment, which is under the jurisdiction of the Senate impeachment court.) 'Pangalawa, meron din diyan provision na nagsasabi kung iimbestigahan, maaaring imbestigahan ng Ombudsman ang impeachable official kapag ang layunin nito ay mag-file ng verified impeachment complaint. Yun lang ho,' Bucoy added, referring to Section 22 of the Ombudsman law. (Secondly, the same law states that if the Ombudsman will investigate an impeachable official, the goal must be to file a verified impeachment complaint. That's it.) These Ombudsman law provisions, Bucoy said, only supports the prosecution's position and the Constitutional provisions providing for the immediate start of the impeachment trial and the Ombudsman holding in abeyance any investigation on the Vice President. 'Nag-acquire na ng jurisdiction ang [Senate] impeachment court [on the impeachment complaint], [so] the Ombudsman should await the outcome of the impeachment proceedings. The Ombudsman should take a backseat and tignan niya yung ano 'yung evidence yang ilalahad during the trial,' Bucoy said. (The Senate already required jurisdiction on the impeachment complaint, so the Ombudsman should await the outcome of the impeachment proceedings. The Ombudsman should see the evidence to be presented during the impeachment trial.) 'Dapat ho, bigyan ng pagkakataon ang impeachment court na iisulong yung paglilitis hanggang ito ay matapos,' Bucoy added. (The Ombudsman should give the Senate impeachment court the chance to proceed with the trial until it reaches a verdict.) The June 19 Ombudsman order requiring the Vice President to comment on allegations of technical malversation, falsification, falsification of public documents, perjury, bribery, corruption of public officers, plunder, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution identified the House good government and public accountability panel which investigated her budget use as the complainant. The House good government and public accountability panel, however, did not file a complaint against the Vice President before the Office of the Ombudsman. — BM, GMA Integrated News
