Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, as Education secretary in 2023, fooled the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), prosecution spokesperson Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said on Tuesday.

The Lanao del Sur lawmaker made the statement following the testimony of Army Col. Manaros Boransing II before the Senate impeachment court.

Boransing, who served as assistant chief of staff of the Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division in 2023, testified about certifications issued for the AFP’s Youth Leadership Summit and other military-led activities.

The certification was among the documents submitted by the Department of Education (DepEd) during the liquidation of its PHP112.5 million confidential funds spent in the latter part of 2023.

Adiong said Boransing’s testimony raised concerns over how the AFP program was used in supporting DepEd’s liquidation documents.

“Isa lang pong conclusion ang puwede nating ma-draw from the testimony of Col. Boransing: Nabudol po ang AFP (There is only one conclusion that we can draw from Boransing’s testimony: The AFP was scammed),” he said.

He alleged that DepEd used a long-running AFP youth program as justification for confidential fund expenses that were questioned by the Commission on Audit (COA).

“Ganun po ka-desperado ang Department of Education sa panunungkulan po ni [dating] Secretary Sara Duterte na ‘yung legitimate na operation na matagal nang ginagawa ng AFP ay willing pa rin silang gamitin ito (That is how desperate the Department of Education was during the tenure of Duterte that they were still willing to use a legitimate operation long conducted by the AFP) as a front to justify their confidential funds, which was flagged by COA,” he said.

Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre echoed the concern, saying the testimony raised broader questions about the handling of confidential funds.

“Mukhang nabudol ang AFP, mukhang nabudol ang taong bayan (It looked like the AFP and the people were scammed),” Acidre said.

Acidre said the testimony strengthened the prosecution’s argument that there were possible irregularities in the liquidation of confidential funds.

He said the use of the AFP certification as supporting documentation may have created a misleading impression that DepEd directly funded or conducted the activities. (PNA)