House panel eyes plunder case vs Sara
HOUSE Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. on Sunday said that the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability was considering recommending plunder charges against Vice President Sara Duterte and other individuals in connection with the P112.5-million confidential funds of the Department of Education for 2023 when she was the DepEd secretary. Gonzales reiterated his appeal for Duterte to give an explanation after the October 17 hearing of the House panel, which was headed by Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua. The committee is the House counterpart of the Senate blue ribbon committee. "It's the people's money, and we need to make sure that it was used rightly. If the Vice President, as DepEd's head at the time, failed to account for how the money was spent, it is our duty to pursue whatever legal steps need to be done, including filing a plunder complaint, in order to protect the public's interest," he said. With the threshold for plunder set at P50 million, the P112.5 million in question significantly surpasses that limit, he said. During the October 17 hearing, Gonzales Jr. made queries with DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla on the disbursement of the confidential funds. Sevilla said they had issued three checks — one each for the first, second and third quarters of 2023. The checks were each worth P37.5 million. Sevilla added that she had no knowledge about the use of the confidential funds. Edward Fajarda, a DepEd special disbursing officer in 2023, was not in the October 17 hearing. Fajarda has been subpoenaed to testify in the next hearing. "The Chua panel is set to continue its investigation, with Fajarda's testimony expected to be a crucial part of determining whether the funds were properly used or misappropriated," Gonzales said in a statement. "The confidential funds in question were part of the P150 million allocated to the DepEd in 2023 for programs aimed at addressing issues such as abuse prevention in schools, anti-extremism efforts and counter-insurgency," he added.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
HOUSE Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. on Sunday said that the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability was considering recommending plunder charges against Vice President Sara Duterte and other individuals in connection with the P112.5-million confidential funds of the Department of Education for 2023 when she was the DepEd secretary.
Gonzales reiterated his appeal for Duterte to give an explanation after the October 17 hearing of the House panel, which was headed by Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua. The committee is the House counterpart of the Senate blue ribbon committee.
"It's the people's money, and we need to make sure that it was used rightly. If the Vice President, as DepEd's head at the time, failed to account for how the money was spent, it is our duty to pursue whatever legal steps need to be done, including filing a plunder complaint, in order to protect the public's interest," he said.
With the threshold for plunder set at P50 million, the P112.5 million in question significantly surpasses that limit, he said.
During the October 17 hearing, Gonzales Jr. made queries with DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla on the disbursement of the confidential funds.
Sevilla said they had issued three checks — one each for the first, second and third quarters of 2023.
The checks were each worth P37.5 million.
Sevilla added that she had no knowledge about the use of the confidential funds.
Edward Fajarda, a DepEd special disbursing officer in 2023, was not in the October 17 hearing. Fajarda has been subpoenaed to testify in the next hearing.
"The Chua panel is set to continue its investigation, with Fajarda's testimony expected to be a crucial part of determining whether the funds were properly used or misappropriated," Gonzales said in a statement.
"The confidential funds in question were part of the P150 million allocated to the DepEd in 2023 for programs aimed at addressing issues such as abuse prevention in schools, anti-extremism efforts and counter-insurgency," he added.
