BUTUAN CITY – The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered Vice President Sara Duterte and nine other officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to respond to criminal complaints filed by the House of Representatives over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
In an order issued Thursday, the Ombudsman gave the respondents ten days to submit their counter-affidavits, supporting documents, and witness testimonies. The Ombudsman warned that failure to comply within the deadline would be considered a waiver of their right to present evidence, and the preliminary investigation would proceed.
The complaints, stemmed from a recommendation by the House Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability to charge Duterte and several officials with a string of offenses, including plunder, malversation, falsification, perjury, bribery, and violations of the Constitution. Specifically, the charges involve the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds by the OVP and P112.5 million by DepEd from 2022 to 2024.
Among the accused are top-level staff from both offices, including special disbursing officers, undersecretaries, and security personnel.
The Ombudsman clarified that it would not entertain motions to dismiss or motions for a bill of particulars.
This development follows the House’s formal filing of the complaint earlier this week and adds further weight to the impeachment case already being pursued against Duterte in the Senate.
VP Sara, who has denied any wrongdoing, is reportedly set to skip the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) once again.
