Senate Hearing Examines Audit Rules On Confidential Funds And Security Operations Expenses — N18G

[0:00] Now, Madam Witness, you were presented with several activities at sabi ng Council for Respondent, [0:08] i-enumerate niya. Itong specifically, Protective Intelligence Operation and Places of Engagement. [0:18] Tinanong sa'yo, pag ba ang mga security guards ng presidente, [0:26] i-inspect, na-inspect daw ang routes prior to departure and arrival of the Vice President [0:41] for possible threats for criminal groups. [0:48] Yung mga security guards ng Vice President, i-inspect yung rota. [0:54] Dadaan dito ang Vice President, Office of the Vice President, [0:58] dadaan dito, tignan nga natin kung may komunista dito. [1:04] Tignan nga natin kung may NPA dito. [1:07] Tignan nga natin kung may terorista dito. [1:10] Yan ba ay parte, I haven't finished. [1:15] Is that part of confidential activity or confidential funds? [1:21] Your Honor, please. [1:22] Yes, Council for Respondent. [1:24] The good Council is adding facts to the question. [1:27] Can she not cite the exact wordings, Your Honor? [1:30] Your Honor, please. [1:32] This is 3D rec. [1:33] You opened the door, Council. [1:34] She can refer to the record, Your Honor. [1:37] Council, you opened the door. [1:38] You said, in fact, you asked her, is this part of the, Your Honor, please. [1:43] Is this part of the regular? [1:45] Council for Respondent, please. [1:46] You read parts, you read parts of the P.I.O. [1:53] What do you call it, Céline? [1:54] P.I.O.R., Your Honor. [1:55] P.I.O.R. [1:56] But, Your Honor, please, she can just refer to the records. [1:59] Which includes NPA, terrorist groups, and in fact, mentions the word criminalities, which I'm not sure about. [2:05] But, um, criminalities, correct, Dr. Céline? [2:08] Yes. [2:08] Correct? [2:09] She said that. [2:10] So, the question is, you mentioned earlier that these are part of confidential functions, not regular functions of the OVP. [2:19] Correct? [2:19] That was the question of Council for Respondent. [2:25] Exactly. [2:25] She responded to that answer. [2:26] Now, what is your question, Attorney? [2:27] My question here is, okay, itong office of the Vice President, eh, na-confirm mo na may confidential funds? [2:39] Opo, meron po. [2:40] Okay. [2:41] But, in the Commission on Audit, outside Kawa-Iqfaw, are you aware that the office of the Vice President has funds outside the confidential funds, her confidential funds? [2:52] Ah, nasa part na po yun ng regular audit. Ang sa Iqfaw lang po is yung sa confidential funds. [2:59] So, um, nasa, she has, you're saying that the Vice President, OVP, the Deputy Secretary, has funds. [3:06] Your Honor, please. [3:08] Already answered, Council? [3:10] She answered. [3:10] Misleading, Your Honor. She didn't say that, that they have funds. She said it, she has no knowledge because that is not the scope of her audit. [3:18] She said, Your Honor, that there are funds, there are funds subject of regular audit, regular funds. [3:26] Yes, po, may regular funds. [3:27] Of the Vice President herself. [3:29] Opo, na- [3:29] And this is subject, Madam Witness, to regular audit. [3:32] Yes, po. [3:33] And being subject to regular audit, it is not part of the Kawa-Iqfaw confidential funds audit, correct? [3:40] Yes, po. [3:40] Okay. Would you know that the office of the Vice President has regular funds or special funds for security personnel? [3:53] Are you aware of that, Madam Witness? [3:55] Ah, dahil nga po, ang sa amin lang is confidential funds. Hindi po ako aware dun sa regular funds po ng OVP. [4:00] Okay. [4:02] Regular funds, the security personnel, and it is here in your, in your circular. [4:08] It says salaries for staff is not part of the allowable expense of confidential funds, correct? [4:19] You mentioned that before. [4:22] Nasa 4.11 po yung mga hindi dapat magamitan ng CF at AIF. [4:28] Salaries, wages, overtime, additional compensation, allowances, et cetera, of government, of salaries, benefits, additional compensation, allowance, or other benefits of officials and employees who are employed by the government in whatever capacity, or elected officials, except when authorized by law. [4:59] The office of the Vice President is, it is of public knowledge that the office of the Vice President has no less than 300, 400 security guards. Are you aware of that? Public knowledge. [5:16] Narinig ko po sa news. [5:17] Yes. [5:18] Yes. [5:18] Yes. [5:19] And if the security guards are being paid salaries, should these salaries be debited or reimbursed from confidential funds? [5:33] Isa po, yung salaries po, eh hindi po siya pwedeng i-charge sa confidential fund. [5:37] Okay. [5:37] So itong activity na sinabi na to check securities, to check surveillance, surveillance doubt, to surveillance, to make surveillance of the roots of the Vice President when she arrives to an engagement, when she leaves to an engagement, when she attends engagements, Christmas parties, whatever. [6:09] Counsel for respondent, yes. [6:11] Your Honor, please. [6:12] I haven't finished it. [6:13] Ah, okay. [6:14] Okay. [6:15] And counsel mentioned ocular inspection and casing of venue prior to activity. [6:25] Now, prior to an activity. [6:28] Should this be part, Madam Witness, if this is a function being done by her personal security guards, [6:38] should this be considered as part of confidential funds activity, Your Honor, this clearing the road? [6:49] Your Honor, please. [6:50] Yes, counsel for respondent. [6:51] Ah, the report does not say that it was done by the security guards, Your Honor. [6:55] There's nothing in there. [6:56] I'm asking her now, Your Honor. [6:58] That's asking for an opinion, Your Honor. [7:00] Let's clarify one thing first. [7:03] The Vice President has no security guards. [7:05] She has a VPSG, Vice Presidential Security Group, which was, I think, later on placed under the Presidential Security Command, [7:19] under the unified command of the Presidential Security Command. [7:21] So, the question… [7:23] Yes, Your Honor, I will reform. [7:24] Kindly reform, counsel. [7:25] If it is the VPSG that does this activity of, quote, ocular inspection, casing of the venue, clearing of routes prior to arrival and departure, [7:45] would that be reimbursable if they are paid separately from another fund? [7:53] Can that be part of the liquidation of confidential funds, Madam Witness? [8:03] Your Honor, please. [8:04] Yes, counsel for respondent. [8:06] The witness is incompetent to answer that because that liquidation report does not state that this work paid to the VPSPG. [8:15] If she knows, counsel. [8:17] If she knows. [8:17] Ceylene, if you know. [8:18] Pwede pong paki-ulit. [8:23] Sorry po. [8:24] Yung VP, I said, and as correctly pointed out, the presiding judge, the VP does have a complement, [8:36] and they're called Vice VP SPG. [8:41] You're aware of that, Madam Witness, and as she said, public knowledge that she has something like 400. [8:48] My question to you is, and you already confirmed, that the VP herself has funds outside this confidential fund. [9:00] Your Honor, please. [9:02] Yes, counsel. [9:03] Misleading, Your Honor, she did not say that she confirmed that there were funds of the VP outside of the confidential fund. [9:09] Well, anyway, counsel, the Senate passes the budget of all the offices of government, and we are well aware that the office of the vice president has other funds. [9:20] We need not belabor the point on objections from either side. [9:25] We are aware of the existence of other funds of the office of the vice president, as well as the DEPED. [9:29] In fact, the DEPED is the highest budgetary allocation in any Gala. [9:35] Your Honor, please. [9:36] Continue, counsel. [9:37] Yes, if I may, Your Honor. [9:39] Counsel keeps objecting to my questions, but she herself was the one who brought it up. [9:45] In the first page of her own exhibit, it says here, and you asked the question. [9:50] She asked the question, Mr. Presiding Judge, Your Honor. [9:56] She says, what is the scope, this report, quote, unquote. [10:00] You read this. [10:01] She read this, Mr. Presiding Judge. [10:03] Move on, counsel. [10:04] The scope pertains to the narrative of events and accomplishments of the VPSPG. [10:12] VPSPG. [10:14] In terms of the protective intelligence during the engagement of Vice President Sara Duterte for the first quarter. [10:22] So, these activities are the activities of the VPSPG. [10:29] So, she can answer, Your Honor. [10:30] Yes, yes. [10:31] Move forward, counsel. [10:32] Can you answer that question? [10:34] If, as stated there, these are activities of the VPSPG for the personal engagements of the Vice President, [10:46] Is this a proper matter? [10:49] Is this proper liquidation of the confidential funds of the Vice President? [10:56] Under the Joint Circular po, yung confidential funds should only be used dun sa lawable expenses under an item 4.8 of the Joint Circular po. [11:06] You did not answer the question, Syleen. [11:09] Yes or no? [11:12] Pwede pong pa-clarify ulit yung tanong. [11:16] Kasama ba sa proper liquidation ang personal engagements ng Vice President? [11:26] At ang bayad or the payment of compensation for the VPSPG for her activities relating to personal activities of the Vice President? [11:44] Kung yung personal activities po, hindi siya chargeable to confidential funds. [11:48] Okay. [11:50] Now, Madam Witness, counsel asked you earlier about the mandate of the COA and you are competent to testify on it. [12:04] Okay. [12:05] Correct? [12:06] Apo. [12:07] Now, I will tell you about, I will ask you about the mandate. [12:12] The mandate of the Vice President. [12:15] Kasama ba sa mandato ng isang Vice President? [12:19] And I will read you the Constitution. [12:22] Performs executive ceremonial and social services functions collaborating stakeholders of organizations in both private and public sectors to develop and promote.