MISLEADING: COA auditor admits BBM signed off on VP Sara’s confidential fund spending 

A YouTube video circulating online claims that a Commission on Audit (COA) witness admits that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. authorized Vice President Sara Duterte’s spending of confidential funds.

CLAIM: 

The post presented an alleged document bearing Marcos’ signature, claiming that a COA witness admitted it to Atty. Michael Poa on the 11th Day of the Impeachment Trial of Duterte. 

Furthermore, the alleged document was reportedly ‘leaked’ and publicized. 

RATING: MISLEADING

CONCLUSION

During the Day 11 impeachment trial of Duterte, there is no official statement or trial testimony from COA auditor Roderick Wamil confirming that Marcos authorized Duterte’s means of spending confidential funds, nor any official evidence that any alleged “leaked document” changed the testimony. Wamil testified on the Office of the Vice President’s liquidation documents and COA’s audit findings, and the document cited in court only shows that President Marcos Jr. approved the release of the ₱125 million confidential funds, not how they were later spent. 

FACTS

• No official statement was made by Wamil, COA auditor and witness at Day 11 of Duterte’s Trial. 
• In fact, the witness testified about the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) liquidation documents and whether they complied with the rules of COA.
• Furthermore, Wamil presented the liquidation report, the supporting documents submitted to COA, and audit findings, including the absence of the official receipts and deficiencies in the documentation, and has not testified that President Marcos Jr. authorized how the confidential funds were spent.
• In the documents presented by the witness, defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa only agreed that the OVP was allotted ₱125-M in confidential funds in 2022, and that the amount was approved by President Marcos Jr., in which the prosecution also acknowledged that the release of funds had the president’s approval. However, approval of a confidential fund allocation is not the same as authorizing every expenditure or certifying that all spending was proper and just.
• No official evidence or trial record shows that a ‘leaked document’ changed the testimony.

THE BOTTOMLINE

The YouTube video is misleading because it falsely reports a COA witness as admitting that Marcos authorized Duterte’s spending of confidential funds, which may confuse the public about the current status of VP Duterte’s impeachment trial.