Prosecution: Sara trial testimony traced P612.5-M funds to public money
Prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte have presented bank testimony tracing P612.5 million in confidential funds to public money. The funds were withdrawn in cash from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
Why it matters
This is a significant development in a high-profile political impeachment case involving the potential misuse of public funds by a top government official.
MANILA, Philippines - The National Treasury released the P612.5 million in confidential funds at the center of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, and the full amount was later withdrawn in cash through seven checks, prosecutors said.
LandBank officers' testimony said P500 million in withdrawals were through the the Office of the Vice President account, while P112.5 million was from the Department of Education.
Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, a lead prosecutor, said the bank witnesses had established the source and movement of the funds before the trial shifts this week to how the money was spent and liquidated.
"Unang-una, napatunayan natin na ang pondo ay galing sa public fund. Pangalawa, napatunayan na ito ay iniwithdraw," Acidre said in a news release Sunday, August 2. (First, we established that the money came from public funds. Second, that those were withdrawn.)
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