MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education and Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds were not directly paid to informants and other recipients by the special disbursing officers. Instead, the task was delegated to “designated” security officers.
After seven hearings by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, the authenticity of the acknowledgment receipts remains uncertain based on the responses of former DepEd special disbursing officer Edward Fajarda and OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta.
At the hearing on Monday, November 25, both claimed they have no idea how the confidential funds were used, since the funds were disbursed to security officers.
They said the security officers were the ones who traveled to various locations and were “in the field” to distribute rewards and pay the rental expenses of safe houses.
For the DepEd, Fajarda said he handed the funds to DepEd security officer colonel Dennis Nolasco.
For the OVP, Acosta said she handed over the OVP’s P125 million in full to colonel Raymund Dante Lachica, head of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group.
“Meron po akong process ng pagdi-disburse. Sa security officer lang po ako nagdidsburse, wala nang iba (I have a process for disbursement. I only release the funds to the security officer, no one else.),” Fajarda said.
Fajarda said it was Lachica who assigned a certain security officer named “Allan” to accompany him during the fund withdrawals.
Withdrawal of funds
Asked how they withdrew the funds, Fajarda confirmed the testimony of Landbank officials from the sixth hearing. He said he encashed the checks and used three bags — one large backpack and two duffel bags — to store the P37.5 million in cash.
The checks were only released to the special disbursing officers after the disbursement vouchers were approved by the accounting division.
He also confirmed that the withdrawals were made in three separate transactions, P37.5 million each, and eventually kept in a vault in the DepEd’s office.
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Acosta shared a similar experience. She said she was accompanied by OVP Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio and two security drivers. She used four “traveling bags” to store the P125 million. This was done four times, from December 2022 to the third quarter of 2023.
She then recounted that the funds were brought to her office, specifically an extension office to which only she holds the key to, and that she left the bags on the floor for Lachika to pick up.
Acosta initially stated that she placed the funds in three vaults, each about four feet tall, with a capacity to hold around P40 million. She also managed to fit the remaining P5 million into the vaults.
The OVP did not previously have vaults, Acosta added.
Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District), who questioned Acosta, then asked if the vaults were purchased specifically to store the confidential funds. She confirmed this.
Both special disbursing officers insisted that the acknowledgment receipts they received from the security officers, which they submitted as documentary evidence of payments to the Commission on Audit (COA), were authentic.
Does not count as a disbursement
For Fajarda, handing over the funds to Nolasco was equivalent to disbursing them to the recipients. However, the committee disagreed, as he did not personally deliver the payments.
“Work lang niya ay designated security officer. Siya lang po yung sa field – sa confidential operations (His job is just as a designated security officer. He is the one in the field – handling confidential operations),” he said.
Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (1-Rider party-list) asked Fajarda if he never had “any interaction whatsoever with any of the recipients” of the confidential funds. Fajarda said, “Yes, Your Honor.”
This raised concerns about whether the confidential funds, which Fajarda released to Nolasco in weekly portions, were actually distributed to legitimate recipients.
The former DepEd special disbursing officer said he requested “quarterly activity plans” from Nolasco before releasing the funds, which he noted ranged from P4 million to P6 million weekly.
He also mentioned that he does not have a copy of the document because it was confidential and only returned it to Nolasco.
Fajarda also confirmed that he only relied on the acknowledgment receipts provided by Nolasco on the “youth leadership summits” that the DepEd said used confidential funds for.
However, the Philippine Army previously said they had not received a single centavo for the summits they were instructed to conduct.
On the OVP’s use of confidential funds, Acosta repeatedly said that she only based the accomplishment reports she submitted solely on the receipts and documents provided by Lachika, who was responsible for the “surveillance” and “monitoring” of operations.
Like Fajarda, she admitted that she did not personally know any of the recipients of the confidential funds.
Both special disbursing officers also expressed full trust in the security officers, as they were informed by Vice President Sara Duterte that a security officer would be designated for the task.
So, who knows?
Fajarda and Acosta confirmed that matters of confidential funds are discussed between them as special disbursing officers and Duterte as head of the agencies.
Lawmakers reminded them that the certification they submitted to COA, confirming the use of confidential funds, implies that they are not allowed to delegate the disbursement of these funds to others.
The state auditor overseeing the audit of the funds confirmed this, with the committee emphasizing that those accountable for any misuse or loss of funds would be the special disbursing officers and not the security officers.
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