MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Audit Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) state auditor Xylene del Campo returns to the witness stand Wednesday for the 15th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, where she is set to face cross-examination by the defense over the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Del Campo previously testified on COA’s findings on the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education’s confidential fund transactions in 2023, including alleged violations, unsupported expenses and disbursements made before cash advances were issued.
READ: PLAYLIST: Sara Duterte impeachment trial (full proceedings)
Key developments:
- COA auditor del Campo testified that tree planting, wheelchair distribution, and Christmas parties appeared in OVP liquidation reports as confidential fund expenses, all of which are not allowable under the governing joint circular.
- Prosecution counsel Kapunan accused the defense of ignoring court orders to compare 4,492 acknowledgment receipts, while Presiding Officer Escudero told the defense it must submit its pre-marked evidence so the court could undertake the comparison itself.
- Private prosecutor Tolosa warned that defense tactics were causing delays and that Duterte’s public statements against the prosecution could violate the sub judice rule.
- Acknowledgment receipts presented on Day 14 listed payees with food-related aliases such as ‘Pampano,’ ‘Keso,’ and ‘Kamote,’ as well as names similar to those of current and former senators.
- The DOJ confirmed it filed three grave threats counts against Duterte in Quezon City, though her counsel said the cases would ultimately be dismissed.
- Redirect and recross possible: After the defense cross-examination, Del Campo may undergo redirect examination by the prosecution and recross-examination by the defense. /dp
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