BATAY sa rules, sinabi ng independent senatorial candidate at dating state auditor na si Heidi Mendoza na obligado si Vice President Sara Duterte na pangalanan ang kanyang mga confidential informant kapag hiningi ng Kongreso at Commission on Audit

Sa panayam ni Gretchen Ho sa Morning Matters ng TV5, sinabi ni Mendoza na ang mga alituntunin sa paggamit ng Confidential Funds ay nag-aatas sa pinuno ng isang ahensya na magpatupad ng mga panloob na kontrol upang matiyak na tama ang paggamit ng pondo ng gobyerno.

Ibig sabihin, dapat alam ni Pangalawang Pangulo Duterte kung sino ang nasa payroll ng kanyang tanggapan bilang mga kumpidensyal na ahente.

“As head of the agency, it is there in the guidelines, you are to adopt internal controls that will protect the funds. This means if you have a list of aliases (of confidential informants), you must also keep a separate list of their real identities,” ani Mendoza.

Ang parehong hanay ng mga patakaran ay nag-aatas din sa pinuno ng ahensya na iprisinta ang listahan kung hihilingin ito ng COA o ng Kongreso.

“One of the controls as specified in the guidelines is the keeping of the journal that is subject to inspection by the Commission on Audit or its representative, when questions are raised. Yes, it’s true an agency may write down only the aliases. But as a government official, first and foremost, your responsibility is to safeguard the people’s money,” iginiit niya.

Binigyang-diin niya na hindi maaaring tanggihan ng OVP ang Mababang Kapulungan kung nais nitong suriin ang mga pangalan sa journal dahil may kapangyarihan itong magsagawa ng oversight sa pambansang badyet.

“It is written in the guidelines that the head of agency must keep a journal. Congress can check it as they see fit. Remember, there is no law prohibiting that. On the other hand, the constitution upholds the right of the citizen to information affecting their welfare and interest. This (confidential fund) is an information that is very important to us,” paliwanag niya.

Pinabulaanan din ni Mendoza ang alegasyong minadali ang mga natuklasan ng COA at na isinailalim ang OVP sa trial by publicity.

“That allegation of trial by publicity is a tired line. Ask any state auditor, that’s the usual defense when we are auditing an agency. In fact, auditors cannot do that, we are barred from speaking about the audit,” aniya.

Nagiging pampubliko lamang aniya ang mga natuklasan ng COA kapag naisulat na ito ng mga mamamahayag mula sa opisyal na website ng ahensya.

“COA observes due process of law, from the time the AOM (audit observation memorandum) is issued, to the time the Notice of Suspension comes out, all the way to the issuance of a Notice of Disallowance. Those things allow for enough time to comply with due process. The audited agency is given enough time,” aniya.

“With regard to congress discussing these things at the level of the committee, I think that falls under the so-called oversight in the budget,” dagdag niya.

Sa mga pagdinig sa Kongreso, isiniwalat na ang OVP ay nagbayad ng mga impormanteng nagngangalang Mary Grace Piattos, Chippy McDonald, Fernando Tempura, at Carlos Oishi—mga pangalang kapansin-pansing kahawig ng mga sikat na tatak ng meryenda.

Patuloy namang tumanggi ang Pangalawang Pangulo sa mga pagsisikap ng Mababang Kapulungan na pilitin siyang ibunyag ang totoong pangalan ng mga nasabing indibidwal, kabilang ang mahigit 1,600 iba pa na ipinapa-verify ngayon ng Philippine Statistics Authority.

Sinabi ni Mendoza na may iba’t ibang paraan upang masigurong mas mahigpit ang kontrol sa paggamit ng kumpidensyal na pondo.

“If elected senator, I will require the audit of the entire confidential funds. We need it to provide a basis to gauge the extent of abuse. We need to document how it was done, which abusive practices were resorted to. We need to profile all of these for audit purposes,” aniya.

“Second, I will move for the creation of an oversight committee within the Senate, not only composed of senators. We can also bring in or invite ng intelligence practitioners. The committee will draw up the national security plan,” dagdag niya.