Ortonio: No wrong in giving CF to informants, leaving them to buy meds

MANILA, Philippines — There was nothing wrong or unusual in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) decision to just hand over its confidential funds (CF) to informants and let them buy medicines on their own as their reward, Assistant Secretary Lemuel Ortonio said on Wednesday.

Ortonio, the third-highest official of the OVP after Vice President Sara Duterte and Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, said this during the impeachment trial after Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan asked whether handing over P122 million of CFs to informants was proper, or whether it should have gone to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

Pangilinan pointed out that Ortonio, as a former head of the BAC, should have known that purchase of supplies like medicines should have gone to bidding — which the Assistant Secretary agreed with.  However, Ortonio also said that based on his understanding of the Joint Circular No. 2015-01, merely handing the funds to informants and leaving them to buy medicines is allowed.

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“Sa ganitong para sa surveillance binigyan ng gamot na P122 million ‘yong mga informants, sila na lang daw ang bibili ng gamot, is this usual in terms of using government funds, and you being a BAC head?” Pangilinan asked.

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(For such surveillance activities, you gave informants P122 million, but they said they themselves will be the ones to buy the medicines; is this usual in terms of using government funds, and you being a BAC head?)

“Based on my understanding po sir at saka sa pagkaka-intindi ko po sir, it went through, parang the process that is allowable by law,” Ortonio said.

(Based on my understanding sir, it went through, because it is a process that is allowable by law.)

When Pangilinan raised the same question again for clarity, Ortonio said that it is usual.

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“So it’s usual, for you?  It’s usual; that’s just my question. Do you find this usual? And you say yes or no.  Do you find this process na medicines ang binibigay bilang reward sa mga informant, pero hindi medicines, sila ang bibili ng medicines, P122 million in a period of nine months, for you that’s usual?” Pangilinan asked again.

(So it’s usual, for you?  It’s usual; that’s just my question. Do you find this usual? And you say yes or no.  Do you find this process where medicines are given as rewards to informants, but you will not be the one to buy medicines; they will buy it, P122 million in a period of nine months, for you that’s usual?)

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“Kung sa pagkaka-intindi ko po sir, and based po sa understanding ko po sa JMC (Joint Memorandum Circular) sir, I would say so sir,” Ortonio replied.

(Based on my understanding, sir, and based on my understanding of the JMC (Joint Memorandum Circular), sir, I would say so, sir.)

Wasn’t informed

At one point during his interpellation of Ortonio, Pangilinan asked why the OVP official did not advise his office that the proper method in purchasing medicines was to have it go through a bidding process.

In response, Ortonio said that he was only made aware that part of the CF was spent for medicines after it was already done, or when the Commission on Audit (COA) sent the OVP an audit observation memorandum (AOM) in October 2023.

“So kung ‘yon ang pinaliwanag sa’yo, sa loob ng siyam na buwan, hindi mo ba tinanong or hindi mo ba sinita na dapat pagka medicines, dapat bidding, kasi ako ang head ng Bids and Awards, alam ko ‘yan eh,” Pangilinan said.

(So if that is how it was explained to you, that under nine months this was the process, didn’t you ask or point out that when we are dealing with medicines, there should be bidding, because I am the head of the Bids and Awards, I know how it should be done.)

“Sir, I was only made aware of the concern regarding the medicines and food supplies, sir, when we received the AOM, which was around October of 2023, sir.  So that was, parang almost nine months after the 2022 na implementation for the confidential funds,” Ortonio said.

Ortonio said he also has no personal knowledge of whether the P122 million of the OVP’s P500 million CF from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 were really used to buy medicines.

“Okay, so hindi mo alam kung bakit gamot, sinabi lang sa’yo.  Pero bilang in charge ng financial services, ‘yon na nga, hindi mo rin talaga alam kung ‘yong P122 million ay gamot ang binili,”

(Okay, so you did not know why medicines were given; it was only relayed to you.  But as the person in charge of financial services, you would not really know whether the P122 million was used to buy medicines.)

“For that purpose sir, I would have no personal knowledge sir,” he added.

Ortonio is the seventh witness presented by the prosecution for Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, or the allegation that Duterte betrayed public trust by misusing the CFs allocated to her offices.

Prior to Ortonio, the prosecution presented several witnesses, like COA auditor Roderick Wamil, who told the Senate Impeachment Court that P40 million of the OVP’s CF allocation for the fourth quarter of 2022 — which were used to buy medicines — were disallowed.

Wamil noted that these were disallowed because the acknowledgment receipts did not show any documentary evidence of payment and other proof of success regarding the information-gathering and surveillance activities.

He also explained that under the Joint Circular No. 2015-01 of the COA and other agencies using confidential and intelligence funds — Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Government Commission for GOCCs, and the Department of National Defense — purchase of medicines is not allowed.

“Why is the medical expense worth P40 million not allowed?” counsel for the prosecution Lorna Kapunan asked during the trial last August 3.

“Because it is not part of the enumeration under Item 4.8, and that enumeration is exclusive; those are the only allowable confidential expenses based on the Joint Circular 2015-01,” Wamil replied.

READ: OVP used secret funds to buy P40-M meds, but that’s not allowed – COA

A day later, Wamil gave the same observations for OVP’s confidential expenses in 2023 — that Duterte’s office failed to provide documents evidencing payment and proving the success of information-gathering or surveillance activities.

OVP used P42 million in the first quarter of 2023 and another P40 million in the second quarter to buy medicines—a total of P122 million.

The CF misuse issue is central to the allegations against Duterte.  A huge chunk of the CF allocations under OVP have been disallowed, as COA-ICFAO issued a notice of disallowance (ND) on P73 million of OVP’s P125 million CF in the fourth quarter of 2022, and on the entire P375 million CF from the first to third quarter of 2023.

READ: Ridon sees ‘pattern of misuse’ as COA flags secret funds in Duterte’s office

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The COA en banc affirmed the ND on the P73 million CF expenditures. /jpv