Civil society groups filed plunder, graft charges vs Sara Duterte’s PHP 612.5 M confidential funds

Philippine Canadian Inquirer
December 12, 2025

Civil society groups filed plunder, graft charges against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Ombudsman on Friday for her alleged anomalous use of PHP 612.5 M confidential funds (Dec. 12, 2025). (Screengrab: GMA Integrated News)

DILIMAN, Quezon City — Civil society groups filed plunder and graft complaints before the Ombudsman on Friday against Vice President Sara Duterte and 15 other officials of the Department of Education (DepED) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for the alleged anomalous use of the PHP 612.5 million confidential funds.

The complainants noted that the filing was done “in light of the many calls of the Filipino people for accountability”, particularly the inappropriate use of the vice president’s confidential funds from 2022 to 2023.

They cited particular instances where the second-highest official of the country has evaded questions and investigations regarding her questionable use of her office’s confidential funds, saying she has “blatantly refused her responsibility to answer to the people”.

“Today, we call upon the institution of the Ombudsman to put an end to this mockery of the system of checks and balances as enshrined in our Constitution,” Father Flavie Villanueva said.

“We fervently hope that our charges of plunder, malversation, bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and gross violation of the Constitution be upheld against Vice President Sara Duterte, and she, at least, be called upon to account one on hundreds of millions of confidential funds that she plundered. And if she fails to do so, she should no less than be found criminally liable for it,” he added.

The civil society groups also flagged, among others, the fictitious names used by Duterte for her fabricated acknowledgment receipts to complete the liquidation process. Some of these names include “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Nova,” and “Oishi.”

“The filing argues that these acts reflect deliberate evasion of oversight and systematic abuse of authority, constituting serious violations of the constitutional mandate that public office is a public trust,” the groups stated.